Sky Shine
by Gemini Artemis
Summary: Jackie, Jade, Uncle, and Tohru travel back in time to Valmont's teenage years in order to save the world.
1. A New Hope

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything here but the plot and original characters. 

**A/N:** This fic contains elements of "What I Like in You", but you don't have to read that one to understand this story. Jade is eighteen years , Jackie and Viper are married and have a son called Jack, the demons are free, and there's a romance between Jade and Hsi Wu, although it's practically not showed here. The rest of the other fic doesn't matter. There are some references, but they are not important. This first chapter is a bit too sickly sweet and sad, but the next chapters won't be like that. 

**–CHAPTER 1–   
_A New Hope_**

Hsi Wu stood up difficultly. He raised his glance and all he could see was panic, terror and destruction. Nobody else could say that there once had been Hong Kong, because it was in total ruin now. Cadavers were everywhere and the ground was covered in blood. Including his siblings' blood. Only Tso Lan was still alive, though not for a long time. 

Hsi pressed his hand against his wounded shoulder and walked slowly towards his brother. He was Hsi's favourite sibling; they had always spent a lot of time together. When the sky demon approached, he saw that his brother was almost dying. He knew he should say something, but he was not sure what to say. 

"... Tso... Lan..." Hsi murmured and the moon demon opened his eyes. 

"Hsi Wu... R-Run away from here. She will come back at any moment..." Tso Lan said in a low voice and Hsi knelt down. 

"Run away? Where to? It does not matter where I go, she will pursue me for all the eternity," Hsi said bitterly and saw Jade running to him, holding Jack by his hand. They approached the two demons and Hsi hugged her. "It is impossible to destroy Apocalypsium," he continued and Jade began to cry, looking at Jackie, Tohru and Uncle, who were lying on the ground. 

"Go on, child. They are still alive," Tso Lan said and Jade looked at him in surprise and fear. 

"Tso Lan! No!" she yelled, crying more and more as she knelt down. 

"Listen to me... Y-You must go to the oracle and find out who was responsible for her release. That human... called Valmont... had the key... Destroy that key in the past... and destroy her releaser..." Tso Lan said, trying hard to stay alive but when finishing the phrase, he could not continue. 

"Tso Lan! Tso Lan!" Jade cried and leaned her head against Hsi's chest. The sky demon also let few suppressed tears fall. He had just lost his favourite sibling. Jack just watched them; he was actually more worried about his father. 

"Dad!" Jack yelled, running to his father, who was still unconscious. 

"Jack! No!" Jade warned, but suddenly the boy was hit in the stomach by a kind of energy. "Jaaaaack!" Jade screamed and she and Hsi Wu turned to see the obvious; Apocalysium had returned. She was floating in the sky, her arms crossed, and smirking evilly. 

Apocalypsium had a very pale grey skin and red eyes. She was wearing a long white dress with several blue strips and had dark blue hair that was longer than her own body. When she was not floating, which was rare, her hair reached the ground. 

At that moment, Tohru woke up. The first thing he saw was Jade being held by Hsi Wu and Apocalypsium smirking at them. Jade then noticed that he had woken up. 

"Tohru! Save Jackie and Uncle! They're still alive!" Jade yelled and Tohru hesitated. 

"But... But Jade..." 

"Don't worry about me! Go now! I'll take care of her!" Jade continued and Tohru reluctantly nodded. He took Jackie and Uncle and ran away, sometimes looking back. Jade glared at Apocalypsium and clenched her fists. She knew she could not defeat her, but somebody had to distract her to avoid that she tried to kill her uncles and Tohru. "Damn you! You'll pay!" she shouted. 

"Jade! Don't do that! You're the only one I have now!" Hsi said holding her arm and Jade turned to face him. 

"I'm trying to distract her, okay? Fly away and tell the others what must be done to avoid this whole catastrophe!" Jade whispered and got away from the demon. 

"Jade! I won't let you die!" Hsi Wu yelled and before he could do anything, Apocalypsium pointed at Jade with her finger and threw another ray of energy. Jade did not even notice her move with her human eyes, but Hsi Wu did and flew as fast as he could to save her. He got it on time, but the price was a mortal wound close to his heart. He gathered his remaining strenght and flew away carrying Jade. Apocalypsium just watched them, her arms crossed again. 

"You can run... but you cannot hide..." she said and her eyes glowed. "Nobody escapes from Apocalypsium!" she announced triumphant and teleported to some other place. 

------

Jackie and Uncle were sleeping in a cave that they used as a hiding place. Tohru was beside Jade, trying to comfort her. She was staring at Hsi Wu, holding his hand. The demon was seriously wounded and had used all his last strength to take Jade to a safe place. 

"Tohru, have you already told Jackie and Uncle what we have to do?" she asked. 

"Yes. They said that we'll do that tomorrow when they're feeling better. We have to let Jackie recover from his son's death," Tohru answered and Jade nodded slowly. 

"Tohru, could you please leave me alone with Hsi Wu?" she asked and Tohru stood up and went back to Jackie and Uncle. Jade caressed the demon's face; he opened his eyes and also began caress her. "Hsi... I'm sorry..." Jade apologised sadly. 

"Just... promise me that... y-you will... do what... brother Tso... said..." he murmured weakly and Jade nodded, kissing his hand and then his mouth. "... I love you..." Hsi Wu said smiling before finally dying. 

"I love you, too..." Jade said as she cried even more and hugged him tightly. 

------

The group was staring at the woman of the oracle. Her eyes were closed; she was in a yoga position and murmuring some incomprehensible words for quite a good while already. Uncle seemed to be the only person who understood perfectly what she was doing. When Jackie opened his mouth to say something, the woman suddenly opened her eyes and made a spookily face, which caused Jackie, Tohru and Jade to startle. 

"I have a vision!" she stated aloud and slowly and Jade and Jackie looked at each other. 

"And...?" Jade said, gesturing at the woman to go on. 

"Here's the releaser!" the woman said, stretching her hand to a basin with a liquid that seemed to be water. Everybody looked at the liquid and it began to form an image of a person. It was a woman who should be about fifty years old. Despite that, she had a relatively young appearance. She had golden hair, blue eyes and was very elegant. 

"This is the woman we have to destroy at any cost!" Jade said and Jackie sighed. 

"I don't like to kill anyone, but this time that's very necessary," he admitted. 

"Tso Lan said that she lives in the past. And Valmont had the key, so they should live near each other, right?" Jade asked and the woman pressed her fingers against her temples to concentrate. 

"She lived... in England!" she affirmed and Jade snapped her fingers. 

"I knew it!" 

"How can we travel to the past? We don't have a time machine," Jackie pointed out shaking his head and Uncle snorted. 

"Who needs a time machine when we have the old and good magic?" he said, standing up. 

"You actually can take us to the past?" Jackie asked in confusion and surprise. 

"Of course. But it is a very complicated spell. First, I need an artefact similar to a crystal ball called Lai Qiu," Uncle explained and the woman got up. 

"I have that artefact. It was very numerous a long time ago, and it's not so hard to find it even nowadays," she said and Jade grinned. 

"Cool! Thus we don't waste too much time!" 

"And could you also help Uncle prepare the spell?" Uncle asked the woman. 

"Sure. After all, the destiny of the world depends on that." 

------

"Hii... Shou... Huai... Muo... Lian... Suu... Gao... Den..." Uncle and the woman slowly murmured. Everyone, except for the woman, was in the middle of a circle, and Jade was holding the crystal ball. 

Suddenly, energy was emanated from the artefact and it quickly wrapped the group. Then, they stopped chanting the spell. 

"I don't know what year you are going to be taken to, but I used chi enough for a date between 1980 and 1990," she said. 

"It is all right. Certainly we will find her in any year of those," Uncle said. 

"Good luck," the woman calmly said and the light around them intensified. None of them could see anything else and they began rotating and being pulled by a mysterious, invisible force. Jade closed her eyes and for a moment she did not hear or feel anything, or even think about anything. When she opened her eyes again, she was lying on the ground in an alley. Beside her, Uncle, Jackie and Tohru were still a bit stunned. Jade thought that she had probably recovered faster because she was younger. 

While they all tried to get up, Jade took some steps towards the street and glance at her surroundings. She saw two-decked, red buses and noticed that the cars were on the left side of the street and had the wheel on the right side. 

"We got it! We're in England!" 

"Huh?" Jackie said in surprise and still confused. Everyone left the alley and watched the street and the people around them. 

"It's true..." Tohru confirmed. 

"C'mon! We can't stay here staring at the city! We have to find Valmont and that blonde woman!" Uncle reminded them, beginning to walk in the pavement, and the others followed him. 

------

The group was in a square. Jade was marvelled at everything. She saw a man throwing a newspaper in the trash. She ran to it, took the newspaper and looked for the date. 

"Fourth of August, 1983!" she read aloud and the elders approached her. 

"Also, we are in London," Jackie said, reading the newspaper. 

"But how will we find Valmont or that woman?" Jade wanted to know. 

"Tohru, you used to be his henchman. Don't you know where he lived when was young?" Uncle asked and Tohru thought for a while. 

"No, but I know where he studied," the Japanese man answered. 

"Do you know where his school is?" Jackie asked and Tohru nodded. 

"That's enough. Let's go," Jade said and began to walk happily as Jackie, Uncle and Tohru calmly followed her. Jackie was pleased and proud of his niece. 

_How good to see her like that... She recovered fast from Hsi Wu's death..._

**To be continued...**


	2. Jade Goes to the School

**–CHAPTER 2–   
_Jade Goes to the School_**

"Hold on!" Jade said stopping suddenly and turning to face her elders. 

"What happened?" Jackie asked in concern. 

"If we meet Valmont, it could change the future. What if something goes wrong and Julia won't be born? That'd be terrible!" Jade answered. 

"A little price for the world salvation, don't you think?" Jackie said and Jade frowned at him. 

"Jackie, I don't believe you just said that! Julia is my friend!" Jade said, then stopped and thought. "I think..." 

Jackie sighed tiredly. "I'm sorry, Jade, but we have to do that. It doesn't matter if it will impede her birth or not," he said, placing his hand on her shoulder. 

"You two reminded me of something very important. I cannot assure that Julia will still be born, but it would be good if we erased the memory of the people we meet here," Uncle said thoughtfully. 

"You are going to let Valmont with amnesia? Wouldn't that only make things worse?" Jade asked in disbelief and Uncle shook his head. 

"Not erase all his memory, but only the ones about us." 

"Yes, that would help to keep the history as we know it," Jackie said leaning his chin on his hand. 

"I can do it myself. It is a very simple spell," Tohru commented. 

"Oh, whatever..." Jade agreed, though still not liking the idea of endangering a friend's existence. 

"We must hurry now. Tohru, where's the school?" Uncle asked impatiently. 

"The name is Star Rising. It is in front of a restaurant called Living Large and beside a club called Frenetic Waters. I would know how to get there if we left from the south of the city, but I have no idea where we are right now," Tohru explained and everyone was thoughtful again. 

"What about asking for information to someone here?" Jade suggested. 

"Good idea," Jackie said. 

------

After three hours walking, they had arrived at a very long street that had practically no high buildings. 

"Aw, I'm tired. Let's stop for a while..." Jade asked. 

"Don't the inhabitants of this city know the place where they live? We asked several people, and all of them taught totally different ways to get there!" Uncle complained aloud, attracting the attention of some Londoners around them. 

"I told you that we should have turned that block over instead of going to that shortcut..." Tohru dared to say and Uncle was about to snap something when they were interrupted by a young woman. She was blonde and her hair almost reached her shoulders; she had green eyes and was wearing a white shirt, a kind of coat very similar to a suit, a tie and a green skirt that reached her knees; she was also holding a school bag. Most likely, she was a student. 

"Excuse me... Are you the new exchange student?" she politely asked and everybody noticed that she had a thick German accent. Jade stared at her; this girl looked very familiar. 

"Exchange student?" Jade repeated a bit confused. 

"Excuse me, miss, but do you know someone called Valmont?" Jackie asked. 

"Oh, yes, I do. But we rarely are in the same class," she answered and Jackie sighed. 

"Ok, could you please tell us where the Star Rising school is?" Jackie asked and the girl blinked twice. 

"We are right in front of it..." the girl said in a low voice and slowly as if she were talking to little children and the group looked at right, noticing a gate and a huge building with very big letters saying 'Star Rising High School'. Jackie, Jade and Tohru were open-mouthed and Uncle smiled. 

"See? Told you the shortcut was better," he said, pleased. 

"So what are we waiting for? Let's go in there and talk to Valmont!" Jade encouraged. 

"You can't. Only people who study or work there can enter. That is not a public school," the girl said and Jade stopped. 

"Then tell me when the students are going to get out of there." 

"They're about to leave," the girl answered, smiling. "Sorry, but I have to go now. I'm late for my course. It was good to talk with you. See you later," she said waving her hand and going away. Jade was still staring at her; that girl was so familiar... 

"Well... And now we-" she said turning to face them but stopped as she watched how they were staring at the school side. "What?" she asked. 

"It's Valmont," Jackie said, pointing at the direction they were staring at, and Jade turned to see it as well. She immediately saw him; his hair would reach his shoulders if it were not tied in a ponytail; he was wearing clothes which were almost identical to the German girl's, the main difference was that he was obviously wearing pants instead of a skirt, and that meant their outfit was indeed a uniform. 

Valmont was talking with two boys. One of them was not wearing uniform and looked older than Valmont and the other boy; he had dark brown hair, which reached his chest and was tied in a ponytail as well; he was wearing jeans, a dark green T-shirt, a black jacket and sunglasses. The younger boy had short blond hair, blue eyes and was wearing normal glasses and the uniform as well. When they three got to at the pavement, they saw Jackie, Jade, Tohru and Uncle staring at them. 

"Hel-lo, pretty one! How are you doing?" the oldest boy asked Jade while lowering his sunglasses. Jade glanced around herself and then at him. 

"Who? Me?" 

"Oh, she must be the new exchange student," the boy wearing glasses remarked. 

"Uh... Yeah... that's right," Jade hesitantly agreed. 

"Welcome to England!" a voice suddenly yelled behind them and everybody yelped in surprise. "Nice to meet you! I am the principal Wolfman! I have been waiting for you!" he said aloud giving them a handshake. 

"Uh... You have?" Jade asked in confusion. 

"Yes, you must be Leng Shun Li, the student who was supposed to arrive today from China, right?" 

"What? No, I'm-", she stopped and thought quickly. "I mean... Yeah, that's me," she said nodding and smiling. 

"Ah, good. Your registration is already done. Your material and uniforms are there waiting for you," he said pointing at the school. "I believe they already gave you a flat, right?" 

"Hmm... Yeah, right, but... I... uh... lost the address. Could you give me it again while I go get the material and the uniforms?" she proposed, feeling a bit more confident. 

"No need for that. I have the address right here. And you can get your material and uniforms later." He took a piece of paper from his shirt pocket and handed it over to Jade. "Well, I have to go now. Anything you need, just call me. My phone number is written below the address. See you tomorrow," he said, turning to go away and waving his hand. 

"Isn't that great, Jackie? Now we have a place to stay for free!" she announced grinning and Jackie crossed his arms. 

"Jade, we can't do that. Sooner or later, the real student will arrive and they will find out the truth." 

"Jackie, this opportunity is a real godsend, we can't waste it," she defended and Jackie sighed. 

"Don't worry, Jackie. The important thing now is to talk with..." she said turning around, but noticed that none of the three boys was still there. "... Valmont," she finished discouraged. 

"That's ok, you'll meet him tomorrow. Let's take your material," Jackie said. 

------

"Here, your uniforms," the woman in the admissions office said, handing over two separated uniforms to Jackie, since Jade was holding a lot of books. 

"C'mon, these weight a ton..." Jade muttered. 

"Do you want me to carry them, Jade?" Tohru offered. 

"Oh, yes. Thanks, T," she said, giving him the books, and sighed in relief. 

"Excuse me, but do you know where Valmont lives?" Jackie asked. 

"Sorry, sir, but we aren't allowed to give that information," the woman replied. 

"Never mind that, Jackie. I can take care of it tomorrow," Jade assured placing her hand on her uncle's shoulder. 

------

After some minutes, they managed to find Shun Li's apartment. The key was with the porter, who had been informed of her arrival. The apartment was average, but still comfortable. It had two rooms, a bathroom, a small living room and a kitchen. 

Jade got one of the rooms, while Uncle obviously got the other one. Jackie and Tohru had no other option but sleep in the living room, where there were two sofas. 

At night, Jade lied on her new bed and thought about all her friends and family who had been killed. Everything had happened very suddenly. One day, everybody was living their normal lives, and then Apocalypsium had appeared, attacking several points of the planet. The world was practically all destroyed and the human race almost extinct within one week. 

Thanks to Uncle, the oracle and the demons, they knew that Apocalypsium was an entity of pure evil that had been sealed a long time ago. She was not a spirit, a demon or a goddess. A long time ago, many demons and wizards had been necessary to seal her and destroy her original body. Her spirit was kept inside an urn that could only be open with a certain key. Surprisingly, that key was with Valmont. Before dying, he said that somebody had given him that key when he was younger. 

Even so, Apocalypsium acquired a body. The demons' father had fought against her as well, and had told them that if she were freed, she would possess her releaser's body. However, there was a small problem to her; the longer she stayed sealed, the longer would take for her to awake her original powers after possessing a body. 

Now they already had much information about her releaser. It was a woman who lived in England in the year of 1983. Jade thought about that for a long while. If Valmont had the key and that woman was the releaser, then they might be related somehow. Maybe they were friends? Jade had found that German girl very familiar, but she did not have all the releaser's physical characteristics. The hair colour was identical, but the girl's eyes were green. Besides, she was too young. 

Jade sighed and shook her head, trying to stop thinking about that. And for the first time after one week, she managed to sleep in peace. 

------

"Jade! Wake up!" Jackie called aloud, opening the curtains in her room. That made the sunlight reach her eyes and Jade made a face, covering her head with the pillow. "Come on. We have a lot to do today," Jackie reminded pulling her sheet and her pillow. Jade had no option but stand up. 

"Ok, what do we have for breakfast?" she asked still sleepy and rubbing her eyes. 

"Nothing. Uncle, Tohru and I are going to have breakfast in some snack bar or whatever they call it here," Jackie answered. 

"What? What about me?" 

"You can eat at the school," he said leaving the room. "Bye! We are leaving now!" Jackie announced aloud from the living room and Jade heard them closing the door. She just stood there for a while. She snorted angry and looked at inside the closet where her uniform was. 

"But I have to wear those tacky clothes?" 

------

It was not hard for her to find the way to the school; she remembered very well the way they had made from there to the apartment. She smiled in victory as she saw that it had taken her only fifteen minutes to get there. 

At the school, she looked for her locker and was surprised to see that it was close to Valmont's, who, by the way, was right there now. She smiled and approached him. 

"Hi, how are you?" she greeted and Valmont glanced at her in despise, and then turned to look for something in his locker again. Jade cleared her throat. "My name is Ja- I mean, Shun Li. Nice to meet you," she said stretching out her hand, but Valmont just closed violently his locker and went away. Jade frowned angry. What an arrogant guy, she thought. Then, she felt someone's hand touch her shoulder. 

"Hi, remember me?" a voice asked. Jade immediately recognised it and turned to see the blonde German girl. 

"Sure. You're the girl we met yesterday, aren't you?" Jade confirmed. 

"My name is Sara Scarlet. Although you can't tell it by my name, I am German," she said giving Jade a handshake. Jade widened her eyes and seemed to have noticed something. 

_That name... Now I remember! She's Julia's mother! That's why I found her so familiar!_

"Is something wrong?" Sara asked and Jade woke from her thoughts. 

"No... Nothing," Jade answered, smiling friendly though a bit stunned. 

"The schools in China must be very different from the western ones. Do you need help?" 

"Uh... They gave me this paper when I got here. Can you tell me where my class is now?" Jade wanted to know and Sara took the paper to read it. 

"Well, I think it is history. Classroom number 112." 

"Oh, and am I going to be at the same class as Valmont?" 

"Actually, no. The classes are separated into areas. You chose history and I chose archaeology, but he chose medicine, so our classes are different. We are together only in math classes," Sara explained. 

"Wait a minute, how do you know that I chose History?" Jade asked curiously and Sara laughed. 

"Don't tell anyone, but actually, I've invaded the school's files and looked for your form. By the way, your photo must be very old. You still had long hair," Sara said in a low voice. Jade was relieved that the real Shun Li resembled her. 

"So you invaded the school's files?" Jade repeated is amusement. She had not known that Julia's mother already had those tendencies. Sara giggled and nodded. "Why?" 

"Because I like anything related to China. And I was eager to meet you," Sara answered. Jade smiled. Julia really looked like her mother. They had the same skills and tastes. Sara seemed to be a very nice person, and Jade could not understand why she had married Valmont. Perhaps she had changed after some time, or perhaps looks could indeed be deceiving. 

**To be continued...**


	3. Mystery at the School

**–CHAPTER 3–  
_Mystery at the School_**

After long and boring hours studying History, Jade's class was finally free to lunch. Jade was starving, since she could not have breakfast. She approached the canteen and saw that the food was not free of charge. Jade sighed in frustration; she had no money. When Jade turned to go away, she felt a hand touching her shoulder.

"Sara?"

"What's the problem, Shun Li? You don't have money?"

"Yeah... I forgot it..."

"Oh, why didn't you tell me before? I can lend you money," Sara offered smiling friendly as she took few pounds from her wallet.

"I can't accept it," Jade said, raising one of her hands to refuse.

"No, I insist. What kind of friend would I be if I let you here starving to death?" Sara said, giving the money to Jade.

"Thanks, I think..." Jade said in a low voice. Sara was just like her daughter. They were both criminals, but also had a kind side sometimes.

"I'll be there waiting for you," Sara said pointing at a table and Jade nodded.

While Jade was choosing what to eat, she felt an arm embracing her shoulders. She turned to face the oldest boy who had been with Valmont yesterday. Again, he was not wearing uniform.

"Hello," he greeted and Jade frowned.

"What do you want?"

"I just wanted to talk with you. We have to get along, since I'm your teacher," he replied and Jade raised a brow.

"Teacher?"

"Yes, I'm doing a traineeship here. You know, trying to get experience," he said and Jade looked at him up and down.

"Funny, you don't look like a teacher. No offence, but you actually look like a juvenile delinquent," she said half-joking.

"That's because I _am_ a juvenile delinquent," he said chuckling and Jade stopped; she could not say if he was kidding or serious. She bent down to break free from his 'embrace'.

"Look, I gotta go now. See ya," she quickly said getting away and then rushing to Sara. She placed the tray on the table and sat down, sighing.

"What happened?" Sara asked.

"I just met a very strange man. He-"

"You're going to eat with Sara? Good, me too. Thus we can continue talking," the man said suddenly appearing behind her and sat down without waiting for an answer.

"Ah, Shun Li, this is Mitchel. He's our Physics teacher," Sara introduced and Jade frowned in annoyance.

_Good thing that I don't have many Physics classes_, she thought.

"You look very happy today, Mit. Did something happen?" Sara asked and Mitchel smirked triumphantly.

"Last night I was correcting some exams and this morning I ordered to give V's and Rit's to them before their Biology test," he said snickering and Sara and Jade glanced at each other.

"So what?" Sara wanted to know.

"They both got zero!" he answered laughing aloud and two boys approached them.

"That wasn't funny at all, Mit. Now I'll get zero in biology too," a blond boy snapped. Mitchel ignored him and Sara rolled her eyes.

"He's always like that. Just ignore him," she whispered to Jade. "V, Rit, do you remember Shun Li?" Sara asked the two boys. Jade stared at them; they were Valmont and the other boy who had been with him yesterday.

"My name is Ritchie. Welcome, Shun Li. I hope you like London," the blond boy politely said smiling and Jade smiled back. The two boys sat down.

"V, be polite and greet the girl," Sara said amused and Valmont snorted, seemingly finding the window much more interesting. "Never mind... Hey, Shun Li, would you like to come with us tonight? You'll see a very weird thing," Sara suggested. Mitchel and Ritchie looked at the German girl in worry and Valmont just shot a suspicious look at her.

"Uh... Sara... I don't think it's a good idea to show that to her..." Mit said seriously and Jade looked at him curiously.

"That what?"

"Don't be silly. It's going to be fun," Sara said calmly and Jade looked at her.

"That what?" she asked again and Sara smirked.

"Every night, at exactly midnight, from the shadows, they appear: a lot of-", she was interrupted by a ring that announced the end of the break. "Oh, class time. Now we're going to study Math," Sara said and everybody stood up.

"Wait! A lot of what? What does appear at midnight?" Jade wanted to know.

"Come on, Shun Li! You'll get late!" Sara hurried and Jade snorted. Well, the only way to find out now was going with them.

------

"So, how was your first day at the school, Jade? Did you speak to Valmont?" Jackie asked when his niece came in the apartment.

"Hardly. Let's say he definitely isn't a very nice person," she said sounding a bit tired.

"Well, I actually could guess that. But don't worry, you can try again tomorrow. But say, did you meet someone interesting there today?"

"Yeah, a German girl who likes to talk about China and spy movies, a nerd boy who studies and read horror stories all the time and a trainee teacher who thinks that grade zero is the funniest thing in the world... And they are all Valmont's friends, I think."

"Well, that's really weird..." Jackie commented, scratching his head.

"They invited me to go to somewhere with them tonight. I think that it's going to be easier to find out something about the key if I go with them. They said that a lot of 'something' appears at midnight."

"Yes, it might have something to do with the key," Jackie agreed thoughtfully.

"Where are Uncle and Tohru?" Jade asked, taking off her tie and shoes.

"They went to a library to research."

------

It was ten o'clock. It was not as cold as Jade had thought it would be, and she was waiting for Sara, Valmont, Mitchel and Ritchie in front of the school, as planned.

"Hello, Shun Li," Sara's voice was heard behind her and Jade turned around to greet her, but was shocked by what she saw.

Sara was wearing black and tight clothes so that she was looking like a secret agent. Mitchel was wearing his usual style: a black shirt with a picture of a skull and some rock band. Ritchie was wearing a white T-shirt, a jacket and jeans. Valmont was wearing a dark green T-shirt – also related to a rock band –, a black jacket and jeans with tears in his knees height. This time his and Mitchel's hair weren't tied.

"What the hell are you wearing?!" Jade asked in disbelief. She never could even imagine Valmont wearing those clothes. She had always believed he was some sort of squad for all his life...

"Hey, we always wear these when we're not at the school. Did you want us to come wearing uniforms?" Mitchel replied and Jade just stared open-mouthed at Valmont. Though it was weird to see him like that, she had to admit he looked cool. Considering he was Valmont...

He seemed to have noticed she was staring at him and walked away towards the school.

"Well, are we going or not?" he asked sharply.

"What? We're going to invade the school?" Jade asked.

"Yes, and I'll show you the school's files," Sara answered.

They went in through a back door that had already been forced, probably by them, and headed to a room where there were lots of cupboards and drawers. Jade silently followed them a bit unsure.

"Here's the room where I found the forms. And there is where they keep the exams," Sara said quietly, pointing at a cupboard in the back of the room. Jade looked at her from the corner of her eye.

"Wait, are we really going to... see the exams? Isn't that cheating?"

"Why not? The History exams have been too difficult, you know?"

"While you look for the exams, V, Mit and I are going to change our marks," Ritchie said and the trio left.

Sara read the very same questions for a long time, repeating them several times to memorise them. Jade approached the drawers and searched for the letter L – Leng –until finding the right drawer.

"Look, I'm going to the canteen. Are you coming with me?" Sara asked and Jade shook her head.

"No, I'll stay here and take a look at the files. I'll catch you up later," she answered and Sara shrugged before leaving.

There was nothing really interesting in the files. Jade was just wondering what had happened to the real Shun Li; she should have arrived already.

She sought in the drawer and found Shun Li's form. The personal details were practically complete, but there was not any interesting information, just that she had got a scholarship and decided to do the exchange for finding English schools better than the ones in China. Jade also found out that her father was English.

She closed the drawer and left the room. There was nothing else to do, so she tried to look for the others. Unfortunately, the school was too big and dark, and Jade quickly ended up lost in the corridors. She kept walking until arriving at the principal's room.

She carefully went in and saw that there was no one there. She sat down on the chair in front of the desk and searcher in its drawers until she found some letters. One of them caught her attention; it was from Shun Li herself. The principal probably had been too busy when he got it and kept it to read it later.

Jade opened the letter and read it. Her grin grew larger as she read the letter.

_Dear Principal, _

Thank you for the scholarship and the oportunity of studying in England, but my family had some problems and unfortunetely I need to stay here until we solve this. I believe that soon the right time will come, since I have outstanding bussiness in England. Anyway, I hope that when I can go to your school, the scholarship is still valid.

Sincerely, Leng Shun Li.

PS: Sorry for any grammar mistakes. I am still trying to learn your language...

When Jade finished reading the letter, she kept it in her jacket's pocket.

"Jackie must read it!" she said to herself.

She heard someone approaching. Sara opened the door so that she could peer inside.

"Shun Li, is that you?"

"Yeah, I was just getting to know the school."

"Come on, it's almost midnight!" the German girl announced grinning and Jade stood up. She, too, was eager to see what appeared every night.

------

The group was all gathered again and they went up to the terrace. Jade glanced around, not seeing anything strange. Now it was just five minutes until midnight.

"So, why are we here?"

"Because here we won't break anything. We already had too many problems with that, you know," Ritchie answered.

"And why would we break something?" Jade wanted to know and then noticed that Valmont was looking for something in his jacket.

"I can't find it!" he said in worry.

"What? You lost it?" Mitchel asked aloud.

"It can't be! He must have left here somewhere!" Ritchie said looking around nervously.

"It must be in my locker," Valmont said, trying to remember.

"This is terrible! We have to go there now!" Mitchel shouted and the group rushed back into the school. Jade just followed them, sometimes glancing around her and still not seeing anything special.

Jade looked at her watch. Midnight. At that exact moment, they heard a noise of something beating in a metallic object. The lockers!

"I'll turn the lights on!" Sara said, separating from the group.

"Get the key of your locker!" Mitchel reminded and Valmont ran while trying to find the key.

The lights of that corridor were turned on and Jade could see the lockers. They were about ten metres away from them now, but before they could get there, they were surprised by some ninjas that looked like the Shadowkhan. The difference was that their skin was much greyer and they had the golden ideogram of 'evil' on their backs and foreheads. The group stepped back.

"_That_ is what appears every night?" Jade asked.

"Talk later!" Mitchel said taking a fighting pose. Ritchie did the same, though a bit awkwardly, and Valmont got to find the key of his locker.

"I found it!" he announced.

"Then go! We get them," Mitchel assured and they three want up the stairs. Mitchel and Ritchie began to fight against the ninjas while Valmont ran to his locker, opened it and took something. He kept it in his jacket and the ninjas immediately ran past the two boys and towards Valmont, who was in guard, ready to fight as well. Sara appeared in the corridor and turned to face Jade.

"Do you know how to fight?" she asked and Jade nodded, still quite confused.

"Good, then let's go!"

The two boys got up and rejoined the battle. Jade went after them and everyone fought against the ninjas. They were relatively weak and Jade did not have any problem to face them. After few minutes, all the ninjas were defeated; they disappeared in the shadows and everybody sighed in relief.

"But what has just happened here?!" Jade asked completely confused and Mitchel laughed a bit, embracing her with his arm.

"It was great, wasn't it?"

"Calm down, we can explain everything," Sara said.

------

A woman was in the centre of a room which seemed more like a place to do rituals. There were candles and skulls everywhere, and the moon could be seen through a hole in the roof. In front of the woman, there was a table with an urn; beside it, there was a kind of cauldron. The woman was staring seriously at the urn. She blond, long hair and blue eyes, and was wearing a long black dress. The ideogram of 'evil' was marked on her forehead, glowing.

The ninjas appeared behind her and bowed when she turned around to face all of them. After a silent while, she finally spoke.

"Are you telling me that you have failed again?" she asked narrowing her eyes and the ninjas lowered their heads.

"Darn! You incompetents! Get out!" she ordered throwing a vase at the ninjas, though they disappeared before it hit them. The woman turned back and cursed, hitting the table violently with her clenched fists.

"Why can I not see who the guardian of the key is?"

**To be continued...**

* * *

**Author's Pointless Note:** That's all I needed. I had my first English class since 1999 and I felt utterly humiliated. I was just beginning to think that my English wasn't that bad, but that text had to show me the opposite. Have you ever heard about the false friends? They can be a real pain sometimes. I'd be happy to share some of them. First, it's the English word, and then the word in Portuguese that just looks like the right translation. In parenthesis, it's the real meaning of the Portuguese words. Clear? Ok, there we go.

Actual – atual (current)  
Assign – assinar (sign)  
Baton – batom (lipstick)  
Beef – bife (steak)  
Casual – casual (chance)  
Cigar – cigarro (cigarette)  
Collar – colar (necklace)  
College – colégio (school)  
Costume – costume (habit)  
Data – data (date)  
Deception – decepção (disappointment)  
Dent – dente (tooth)  
Exquisite – esquisito (strange)  
Fabric – fábrica (factory)  
Intend – entender (understand)  
Intoxication – intoxicação (poisoning)  
Library – livraria (bookstore)  
Lunch – lanche (snack)  
Parent – parente (relative)  
Pretend – pretender (intend)  
Push – puxar (pull)  
Record – recordar (remember)  
Sensible – sensível (sensitive)  
Stranger – estrangeiro (foreigner)  
Sympathetic – simpático (nice)

That's also why I always laugh when I read in fics that Tso Lan, for example, is very sensible. I think, "Tso Lan? Sensitive?"


	4. The Key

**–CHAPTER 4–   
_The Key_**

_Valmont looked at the window of the airplane. The view was not interesting, since there were only clouds to be seen. He then turned his glance to inside the airplane. Mitchel was seated beside him, doing some mathematical calculations; not very interesting either. _

Some months after Valmont had returned from San Francisco, he had been sent to China in order to train at the same dojo where Mitchel had learned how to fight. Because Mit was the only one who knew where it was, he had to go with Valmont – and also because he would have a chance to annoy the younger boy. Now, after two years, they were finally going back to England. 

"Ni hao ma?" Mitchel suddenly asked, without stopping his calculations, and Valmont slowly looked at him, eyeing his companion as if he had finally lost it. "It means 'How are you?' in Chinese," he clarified and Valmont rolled his eyes. 

"I know that!" 

"Yeah, you're right. If even after two years in China you still didn't know a simple sentence like that, you'd be really stupid." 

"Thank you, Mit..." Valmont said in a sarcastic tone. "But could you stop speaking Chinese to me? I heard that language for two years! As if all these people here in the airplane weren't enough..." 

"Ah, don't complain. At least there are some English here as well. Look, there's an Englishman right there." Mitchel pointed at a middle-aged man who was on the other side of the airplane, staring at Valmont. 

"Mit, don't point at people like that, it's rude..." Valmont said looking away and Mitchel could not help but laugh. 

"It seems that China was good for you, huh? You've never really cared about that." 

Valmont glanced at the man, who was still staring at him. 

"Look what you've done! Now he won't stop staring at us." 

"Oh, my God!" Mitchel suddenly exclaimed making a worried face. 

"What? What is it?" Valmont asked also worrying. 

"I've confused the charge of the protons. You see? You're distracting me! Now I'll have to do it all over again," the older boy complained, taking an eraser from his pocket and erasing his calculations. 

Valmont rolled his eyes again and snorted in despise. He glanced at the people in the airplane and the Englishman was still staring at him. 

------

"Can you really go home on your own? Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" Mitchel offered. 

"I am not a child anymore, you know," Valmont replied sharply. 

"Since when 12 years old is not a child?" 

"Don't you have to go to your home?" 

"Ok, ok, I'm going. See you later, then," Mitchel said waving his hand and getting on the bus to Oxford. The bus soon left and Valmont still watched it for a while, when he suddenly felt a hand touching his shoulder. He turned to see that it was that Englishman in the airplane. 

"Hey, kid, we have to talk about something very important," the man said and Valmont stepped back. 

"You? What do you want with me?" Valmont asked on guard, but the man raised his hand to calm him down. 

"Patience," he said and knelt down so that he could look at the boy in the eyes without having to lower his head. The man took a key from the pocket of his suit and showed it right before Valmont's eyes. "This key has been with my family for a long time. It belonged to a guardian thousands of years ago, but when he died, our ancestral kept it. For all this time we waited for the guardian to reincarnate so that he once again could keep it. This is not safe with me, you know," the man explained and Valmont raised an eyebrow. 

"But what does that have to do with me?" Valmont asked completely confused and the man smiled softly. 

"I believe that I've just found the reincarnation of the guardian," the man revealed and Valmont thought quickly. 

"You mean that it's me?" 

"Yes, and my family can finally return it," he said handing over the key to the boy, who just stared at it. 

"Pay attention. Being the guardian of the key is not an easy task. Soon they'll come after you from the darkness, wanting that key at any cost in order to free their master. You cannot let them have that key! Do you understand?" the man wanted to make sure and Valmont unconsciously nodded, still understanding nothing at all. "Don't worry. We'll help you when the right time comes," the man assured standing up and turning to go away. "Good-bye," he said and disappeared in the crowd. 

"That man is completely mad!" Valmont said and observed the key for a while, before shrugging and keeping it. 

... 

"And you keep that key since that day?" asked Jade, who had listened to that story very carefully. She and the rest of the group were seated at a table, eating the food of the canteen, while Valmont told her about the key. 

"Yes, and it's been three years that those ninjas began to appear every midnight to pursue me," he added. 

"Can I see the key?" Jade asked and after some hesitation he decided to show it. He took it from his pocket and handed it over to Jade, who watched it carefully. The key was golden and had some diamonds and rubies. Jade thought that Valmont had agreed to keep it just because of the jewels, perhaps someday he would sell it. Except for that, the key did not have anything special. 

"That's it! You already saw it!" Valmont said sharply, taking the key from her hands and keeping it in his pocket again. 

"Hey!" Jade protested. 

"V, we can trust her!" Sara defended her. 

"You know very well that I don't trust anyone! How am I going to know that she really is not against us?" 

"Shun Li, excuse us for a minute. That won't take too long," Sara said standing up and dragging Valmont to the corridor. Jade, Mitchel and Ritchie tilted their heads trying to see them. 

"V, what do you think you're doing? You'll offend her!" Sara complained. 

"So what? It's not my problem!" 

"What?! She risked her life to save you tonight!" Sara slit her eyes. "You don't even care, do you?" 

"Of course not. You should know that I don't care about anybody. You, she and the others fought because all of you wanted! I don't remember having asked for your help and-" He was interrupted when Sara slapped him hard. The sound echoed for the whole corridor and the canteen, and Jade flinched when she heard that. "Ow... Why did you do that?" Valmont asked placing his hand where Sara had slapped him. 

"You don't understand anything, you idiot! I hate you!" she shouted and ran off to leave the school. Valmont snapped and went to the corridor's opposite side. 

_Oh, no. They're arguing because of me... If they continue like that, Julia will never be born!_ Jade thought, slapping her forehead. 

"They look like a couple," Mitchel commented calmly. 

"Soon they'll make it up," Ritchie said, but Jade did not feel any better. She stood up and at first thought of going after Sara, but the German girl should already be out the school and Jade would not manage to catch her up. Then, she decided to talk to Valmont first. 

------

"Valmont! Valmont, wait!" Jade shouted as he walked quickly along the corridor. When she caught him up, he stopped and turned to face her. "I'm sorry. It's my fault that you and Sara ended up arguing..." she apologised, panting. 

"I don't-" he started but Jade interrupted him. 

"Listen, I can't get into details, but you're very important to me right now!" she said and Valmont stared at her, his eyes slightly widened. "And I need that key! Now!" she demanded and Valmont frowned. 

"No." 

"Please!" she pleaded and he turned to go away. 

"No." 

"But-" 

"No." 

"I-" 

"No!" 

He went away, leaving Jade alone in the corridor. She clenched her fists angrily, but then an idea seemed to have come into her mind and she relaxed, smirking and leaning her chin on her hand. 

"So... he has to trust me, right?" 

------

Valmont ran outside the school and only stopped when he was already in the pavement. He looked once again at the school and then at the key. 

"What did she mean when she said that I am important to her?" he wondered and when remembering her face, he blushed slightly. Then, he remembered Sara and how she had slapped him. He shook his head to move away those thoughts. "Women..." he muttered and continued his way home. 

------

As soon as Jade stepped in her apartment, she told Jackie, Uncle and Tohru about the mysterious ninjas and Valmont's story. 

"What do you think, Uncle? Any idea what all this mean?" Jackie asked. 

"Yeah, nobody told me about ninjas," Jade added with some annoyance in her voice and Uncle shook his head. 

"Uncle does not know about those ninjas, never saw Apocalypsium controlling something like that." 

"Maybe it's a wizard..." Tohru guessed quietly. 

"Who knows? That woman may be a witch, after all!" Jade said rather amused, as if she were talking about a fun horror movie. 

"And what about the man who had the key?" Jackie reminded and Uncle whacked him in the head. 

"The man who had the key is not important! The key is!" he yelled. 

"But Valmont won't let anybody even touch it..." Tohru pointed out. 

"Don't worry, T. If he has to trust me to give me that key, then I have to make him trust me at any cost," Jade said, self-confident. 

"And how are you going to do that?" he wanted to know. 

"Simple, I'm going to be his friend. Maybe I can get the key in his house during a visit," she replied. 

"But Jade! That's robbery!" Jackie said, apparently in shock. 

"Tch! Do you prefer that the whole world is destroyed?" she appealed and Jackie did not answer, but just lowered his head. 

"Alright... Do whatever is necessary..." he agreed reluctantly after a while. 

"Oh, Jackie! I also found this letter in a drawer of the principal's desk. Take a look," she said taking the letter from her pocket and handing it over to her uncle. 

Jackie began to read it. "So, Shun Li has temporarily given up her scholarship? Good, that gives us more time..." Jackie said when finishing reading the letter. 

"Yeah, and I can continue pretending to be Shun Li with no problem. Good thing that I took that letter before the principal read it!" 

------

Jade was heading to the canteen; she was curious because Sara had spent the whole day in Physics classes, as if she wanted to have classes only with Mitchel. Jade found Ritchie coming towards direction and they stopped. 

"Hi, Rit. What's going on with Sara?" the Chinese girl asked and the blond boy shrugged. 

"I don't know. She's been acting strangely since this morning..." he answered. 

"Oh, and it was all my fault..." she murmured, feeling guilty again. 

"Ah, you don't need to worry." 

"Why not?" 

"It wasn't your fault. Sara is short-tempered sometimes." 

"Uhn... Say, do you know where Valmont is?" Jade asked. 

"He's having lunch... and studying... Medicine is very hard, and the worst thing is that he doesn't even like it," Ritchie answered shaking his head. 

"If he doesn't like it, then why did he choose to do that?" 

"Ah, it's a long story... I'd love to tell you, but I'm in a hurry now. You'd better ask him. Bye." Ritchie waved his hand and went in a classroom. Jade turned around and when arriving at the canteen, she immediately saw Valmont. She cleared her throat and smiled in the friendliest way that she could while approaching him. 

"Hi, V! Sorry about last night," she said sitting down. 

"Uh... It's all right..." he answered nervously and kept writing something in his notebook. Jade leaned forward on the table and saw that he was reading a biology book and writing some notes about the medicine classes. 

"Oh, you're studying medicine? Cool" she commented to start a conversation and he stopped writing. 

"Do you really think so? I hate this thing..." 

"Rit told me that you were forced to choose medicine. Why? And by who?" she asked curiously. 

"It was my mother who forced me. For three reasons. One, thus I waste all my time studying and not bothering her. Two, it is a profession that brings a lot of money. And three, my father died because of a disease that could have been cured with a surgery, but it would have been a very complicated operation and in the end nobody could save him on time. Then my mother wants me to be the doctor who never existed to save my father. I know that it doesn't make sense, that's something from her crazy mind... Don't try to understand..." he explained, shaking his head at the latter comment. 

_Wow, his story sounds like Julia's... except for the medicine part. Does that mean something or is it just a coincidence?_ Jade wondered. 

"Gee, it must be hard to you," she remarked. 

"Nah, hardly." 

"I can help you. What do you say? We can study together." 

"But... our subjects are completely different..." 

"Let's just say that I've changed my mind and now I want to study medicine, too," she said winking. Valmont lowered his head and blushed a little. 

"All right, then..." 

**To be continued...**


	5. The Visit

Thank you very much to **VampireNaomi** and **CelticGdds9**! I really appreciated your reviews!

* * *

**–CHAPTER 5–  
_The Visit_**

Even while leaving the school, Jade and Valmont were still talking. They had stayed together in all the classes and Jade was sure that if she continued like this, she would soon be able to make him trust her and then get the key.

"Hey, V, the first exam will be on Monday. Let's study together this weekend!" Jade proposed.

"Uh...? I... have to stay home on weekends..." he replied uneasily and Jade tilted her head curiously.

"Why?" she wanted to know and Valmont sighed in annoyance.

"My mother doesn't allow me to go out like everybody does. She forces me to stay home and study..."

"Oh... well..." Jade murmured and then had an idea, "No problem! I could go to your house!" she said happily and Valmont flinched.

"I-I don't think it's a good idea..."

"Why not?"

"Because..." He was in silence for a while before going on, "Oh... All right, you can come," he said, making Jade smile.

"Way to go, V! Thanks a lot!" she said, tapping his back. "See you tomorrow, then," she said and Valmont began to walk away.

"Uh-huh..." he murmured.

Jade smiled pleased. It was a great idea to go to Valmont's house. Thus, she might have the chance to take the key without anybody noticing before it was too late.

She looked at her right side and saw Sara smirking cynically at her.

"What?" Jade asked.

"You and V have been spending too much time together... I'm beginning to suspect..." Sara replied amused and Jade remembered that perhaps it was not a good idea to spend so much time with the German girl's boyfriend – and future husband.

"It's nothing like that! We are just friends! I'd never flirt with my friend's boyfriend!" Jade nervously defended herself and Sara's eyes widened.

"You mean V has a girlfriend?! And who is it?" she asked eagerly and Jade raised an eyebrow.

"Uh... I was talking about you..." she said.

Sara blinked twice and then laughed. "V? My boyfriend?! Where did you take such a ridiculous idea from?"

"Uh...? You mean you two... are not together...?"

"Of course not! What made you think that?"

"It's 'cause you're... always together and stuff..." Jade wanted to say: 'Because you get married and have a daughter in the future! Duh!', but she had to contain herself and wonder why Sara found the idea ridiculous.

"We are friends," Sara said shrugging and then began to laugh again. "And we have almost nothing in common! He is always so serious."

Jade stared at her open-mouthed. Well, when Jade had met the Dark Hand, Valmont had not been married yet. Maybe he and Sara two had met again after a long time and only then they had fallen in love.

"Ahaha... My mistake..." Jade said smiling nervously.

"That's right, he's available," Sara said winking at Jade, who looked away and cleared her throat.

"Uh... So, what did you do the whole day?" Jade asked to change the subject.

"Ah, nothing special. Studying, as usual," the German girl answered with no enthusiasm at all, but suddenly cheered up. "Fortunately tomorrow is Saturday and I can go to Steel Vampires' show!" she shouted almost hysterically and her eyes twinkled.

"Wow... that's cool," Jade said a bit unsure and Sara looked strangely at her.

"By the way, what were you two talking about?" she asked.

"Nothing..."

"Come on, tell me! I know V, and by just looking at his expression I can tell that you were talking about something... hehe... very special!" Sara suggested grinning.

"No, we were just... arranging a place to study for the weekend."

"Study? My, you really don't know how to have a fun life..."

"Hello? Those who chose Medicine have to study harder. Besides, Valmont can't go out even on weekends."

"Yeah, I know. It's very nice of you to stay with him. So, where are you going to study?"

"At... at..." Jade stuttered suddenly embarrassed and Sara faced her.

"Where?"

"At... at his... at his house..." Jade murmured blushing and Sara's eyes widened.

"At his house?!"

Jade nodded and Sara placed her hands on Jade's shoulders.

"You know, a person who barely knows him being invited to go to his house is really someone very special. But remember that you have to be strong, my friend!" the German girl said seriously and Jade stared at her in confusion.

"Why? What's the problem?"

"His mother!"

"What's the problem with his mother?"

"She's a very cold and sometimes freaky person!" Sara stepped closer to Jade so that she could speak more quietly. "Don't worry about her during the day, but _never_ say the words 'blood', 'cemetery' and 'sick'!"

"What if I say one of those words?" Jade asked scared.

"Exactly! We never know what can happen! That woman is very unsettled, Shun Li!"

Jade gulped. "Do you think she is... dangerous?"

"Dangerous? Nah, I don't think so. But she's completely unpredictable when she hears those three words. Sometimes she locks herself up in her room for days and strange things begin to happen."

"I see..." Jade slowly nodded and Sara crossed her arms, thoughtful.

"Oh, one more thing. She will probably ask you if you like cats; say yes. And then she will offer you lemonade; refuse it. And remember that, whatever even happens, you can't look her in the eyes for more than five minutes."

Jade raised an eyebrow. "Why all that?"

"Just do it and your visit to his house will be very pleasant. Well, I have to go now. See you later. Good luck!" Sara said, waving her hand and walking away. "Oh, and don't go close to her room!" she shouted before going away.

Jade sighed. "Valmont's mother is _so_ weird..."

------

"Hi, Jackie! Hi, Uncle! Hi, Tohru!" Jade greeted quickly as she came in Shun Li's apartment.

"Hi, Jade," they all answered.

"So, did you have any luck today?" Jackie wanted to know.

"Yep, I'll go to his house this weekend. It's the perfect opportunity to get the key!" she announced happily and the three men smiled pleased.

"Very good, Jade!" Jackie congratulated.

"And you, what did you do the whole day?" Jade asked.

"Reseaaaaarch!" Uncle practically shouted.

"Of course. Why do I even ask?" Jade murmured sarcastically.

"And with Tohru's help, Uncle has found out that the ninjas you saw were created and controlled by a dark-chi wizard a long time ago. When he was defeated, before dying he sealed part of his powers in a ring. Those who defeated him realised that if they destroyed the ring, its powers could be released. So, they decided to hide it," Uncle explained.

"But it seems that even so the woman who released Apocalypsium got to find it," Tohru added.

"Where had they hidden that ring?" Jackie asked out of curiosity.

"In India," Tohru answered.

"Ok, here's the deal: while I try to get the key, you try to find that woman," Jade proposed.

"That will be veeeery difficult. She's probably cast a powerful spell to hide her dark-chi," Uncle said in deep thought and shook his head. "Uncle has to research more about it."

Jade and Jackie sighed.

"Jade, do the ninjas attack _every_ night?" Jackie asked.

"Well, Sara and the others said so."

"Even in his house? Valmont has to fight them every night?"

"Yeah, I guess he does." Jade shrugged. "I could stay around there until they show up. Then I can find out something about them. Maybe they have a weak point."

Uncle snorted. "Uncle can find out their weak point by researching! You do not have to stay in his house until that late," he snapped, crossing his arms. "Especially because that would not be decent," he muttered.

"That would not be decent? Hello! Uncle, I was just going to stay _around_, waiting for the ninjas, not sleeping with Valmont!"

"Jackieee! Say something!" Uncle demanded and his nephew scratched the back of his head, unsure about what he should say.

"Erh... Well... I think she can go. After all... it's for a good reason, isn't it?"

"Go, Jackie!" Jade said, smiling.

"Aiyah! Fine! You can go! But I hope you don't come back here saying you like him!"

"Tch! You don't seem to be the Uncle who let me stay with a demon..." Jade remarked bitterly.

"That's because I never let you do so," the old man snapped and left the apartment.

"We are counting on you, Jade. Good luck," Tohru said and Jade nodded self-confidently.

Jackie sighed; he now was even allowing his niece to sleep at a criminal's house! He was feeling quite useless himself. The only thing he could try to do by now was to help to research, though.

------

The following day, at three in the afternoon, Jade was slowly walking along the pavement while reading a piece of paper that had Valmont's address. He lived rather far away and she had some problems to find the right place, but then finally arrived and was now in front of a huge house, which could be considered as a mansion. The front gate was open, and Jade hesitated a bit before going in. When she got to the door, it was half-open as well. She carefully went in and glanced around.

"Excuse me... Is anybody here?" she asked aloud and there was no answer. She then stepped in the house completely and observed the place. It was a very luxurious house, though it had a somehow heavy atmosphere. It was strange that Jade felt this way, since the house was lightened and there was not any strange object around. She yelped as she felt something touching her legs; she glanced down and saw a white cat. "Aww, so cute! Don't scare me like that again, kitty," she said, kneeling down to caress it. "Where are your owners, huh?"

"Right here," a cold voice answered behind her and Jade felt cold shivers going down her spine when hearing it. The girl turned around and saw a blonde, blue-eyed woman. Her hair was tied in a very elegant bun and she was wearing a long purple dress and high heels.

"Oh... G-Good afternoon..." Jade greeted politely and the woman slightly bowed her head.

"You must be Shun Li," the woman guessed and Jade nodded, forcing herself to smile.

"Y-Yes, that's me..."

"Glad to meet you. Please, make yourself at home."

"T-Thanks..."

The white cat approached the woman and then Jade could see that there was another cat in the room; this one was a black cat. The two animals jumped onto a sofa and the woman caressed them.

"My name is Catherine Valmont. And these are our cats, Yin and Yang," the woman introduced and glanced at Jade. "Do you like cats?" she asked calmly and Jade remembered what Sara had told her.

"Oh, yes. I... love cats," she answered, and that was actually very true. "So, Valmont has only his mother's surname... But why not his father's too?" she wanted to know and the woman looked seriously at the white cat, still caressing it.

"Because if he is not here anymore, he is not important. Right? Isn't that true, my dear Yin?" she asked the cat and Jade thought she had better not to ask any more.

**To be continued...**


	6. Catherine

At last, chapter 6! I hope you like it. I'll just warn you that I wrote this chapter at midnight, very sleepy and with a lightning inspiration moving me.

**VampireNaomi** – Making things up is a bit dangerous when it's about my fics. Sometimes I might disappoint you because the story is not as exciting as it looks. But fortunately, I intend to explain everything about Valmont's past here. Uhn... I have no idea how long this fic will be, so let's just wait and see if I can write something interesting.

**Forgotten Love** (for chapter 2) – Do you still like this fic? Yes, I meant a locker. Thank you, I was really unsure about that word. Unfortunately, all my dictionaries said it was 'closet'... but it wasn't a closet either... -sighs- Thank you for reviewing! Oh, and if you want to translate one of my fics, you can just choose your favourite.

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**–CHAPTER 6–  
_Catherine_**

Jade looked down at the black cat when it approached her and she knelt down to caress it.

"How cute!" she said, smiling, and then noticed that there was something written in its neck. She tried to brush its hair away so that she could see it and noticed it was some sort of Chinese ideogram, but before she could see it clearly enough to tell its meaning, the cat shivered dangerously and scratched her in the hand. Jade yelped and let go of the cat, which ran off leaving the room. "Whoa! That cat is crazy!"

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" Catherine asked keeping her face expressionless and Jade turned to her.

"No, just some blood, nothing serious," the girl answered and flinched when the woman's expression immediately became gloomier and disturbed.

"Blood...?" she repeated, squeezing the white cat in her hands as if she were trying to mentally fight against something. Jade backed away, beginning to get scared with her behaviour and remembering what Sara had warned her.

_Damn! I shouldn't have said blood!_

Fortunately, the cat managed to break free from Catherine's grip and ran off as soon as it landed on the floor, passing under Valmont's legs. He had just arrived at this room and still stared at the running cat before looking angry at his mother.

"Mother, if you want to kill another cat, kill your own," he said sharply and Catherine pushed her way past him.

"I just remembered that I need blood..." she said in a low voice and he covered his face with a hand, shaking his head hopelessly.

"Sorry, V, but I have to say that your mother is very weird!" Jade commented leaning on a sofa.

"Uhn... Well, never mind her. Weren't we going to study now?" he reminded obviously trying to change the subject and Jade remembered why she had come here.

"You bet, V."

------

Jade stared at her almost all blank exercise book while eagerly beating the pencil against the table. She could not be wasting time here; she should be searching for the key that released Apocalypsium!

She discreetly raised her gaze and saw Valmont frenetically writing some calculations and notes. He looked nervous about something as well, and Jade guessed that it was because of his eccentric mother or because he hated medicine. Then again, she did not have time for that; she had to come up with a way to search for the key in this house without being noticed.

Well, seemingly, there were only two people living here, and any maid they might have hired should be off on weekends. Catherine did not have any reason to wander around the house, no matter how strange she was. And Valmont was too busy studying; he would not leave his room. Thus, she had a good opportunity now.

"V," she suddenly called and he flinched, accidentally pressing the pencil against the exercise book too much and breaking its fragile point. Jade raised an eyebrow, but he acted like it was all right.

"Yes?"

Jade still stared at him for some seconds, but then shook her head and concentrated on what was important.

"Uh... Where's the bathroom?" she asked, forcing a smile.

"You mean the toilet? I-It's... the second door at left... i-in the second floor..." he stuttered, pointing at the door with the pencil.

"Are you ok?" she asked, finding it strange that he looked nervous.

"Y-Yes... Why?"

Jade shook her head and lifted her hand. "Nothing, never mind. I'll be right back," she said leaving the room.

------

As she left the room, Jade hurried to a corridor upstairs. She opened the first door and did not see anything important there. There was a desk and Jade checked the drawers. Nothing but documents. She then rushed to the next room.

This one had some cupboards with several musical instruments such as violins and flutes. She went to another room and this time she saw some old furniture and a trunk. She doubted that Valmont kept the key in that trunk, but it would not kill to give a try. Anyway, it was not in this room either and she went back to the corridor.

She leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. The mansion was huge, and if she continued like this, she would never find the key. Jade then noted a half-open door on the other side of the corridor and ran to it. She carefully peered inside and smiled in victory when it was obvious she had found Valmont's room. The key was certainly here.

Jade opened the door and happily entered the room. She checked a chest of drawers, the wardrobe and even under his bed. She sighed in frustration and got up, then her gaze ended up on a small box with a golden lock on a table, almost completely hidden behind books and exercise books. She smiled; that box seemed to be the perfect place to keep that key.

However, when Jade approached to get the box, cold shivers went down her spine and she immediately froze. She had a strange feeling, like someone was watching her. And the worst thing was that she could feel that someone's evil smirk. She glanced around, alarmed, but did not see anything strange. After a sepulchral silence, she heard something that sounded like a hiss, and it was coming from somewhere in the corridor.

Jade curiously left the room. She was attracted until a room almost in the end of the corridor, relatively far from Valmont's room. At this point, the corridor was dark, except for a weak light from the last window, which was at a considerable distance.

The Chinese girl did not have to walk until the end of the corridor, since she felt she had to stop in front of a certain room. She had already gone too far, she would not go away before finding out what was going on.

She opened the door as carefully as possible and widened her eyes when seeing what was inside. Valmont's mother was kneeling in a blue circular rug with stones around it. In front of her, there was a rectangular table with two candles and an empty glass. The woman was holding a dagger and whispering some words.

As if it were not intriguing enough to Jade, Catherine cut her wrist with the dagger and calmly watched how her blood gushed. She then took the glass and lifted her wrist above it so that the blood drooped in it.

Jade went back to the corridor and placed her hand on her head. She had no idea what that woman was doing, but it did not seem to be good. Julia had never told that her grandmother used to do crazy rituals.

She realised she could not stay here. She was sure that Catherine was doing that because Jade had said the word 'blood', and who knew what she could do next?

The hiss became louder and Jade instinctively ran off downstairs. When she was near the room where Valmont was studying, she heard a cold voice behind her.

"Shun Li."

Jade turned around completely pale, and saw what she feared but was inevitable. Jade tried to say something, but could just force a weak smile. Catherine was holding a glass with a red liquid. Her blood! Jade swallowed and considered what she should do. Should she run away? Or fight? Or just act normally and pretend that nothing happened until she was safe and sound with her uncles?

"You look so pale. Would you like some of this?" Catherine offered the glass and Jade noted it was bubbling. The hiss was becoming unbearable and Jade pressed her hands on her ears trying not to hear it. "What's the problem?" the woman asked approaching Jade, who backed away until the stairs.

"Stay away from me!" she demanded almost yelling and when turned around to go downstairs, she was right in front of an old picture of some French general. When she looked deeply at it, she was something that looked like a face occupying the whole picture. She then knew; the hiss was coming from that face! Jade trembled, staring at the picture, unable to move. She felt a cold hand touching her shoulder and heard the woman calling her again. Jade screamed and pushed her away past her, then ran as fast as she could.

------

Jade ran not even looking back and just stopped when she saw Valmont in the hall of the mansion.

"Shun Li, where have you been? You were taking so long and I looked for you everywh-"

"V, I gotta... I gotta go now!" she said in desperation and Valmont raised his brows.

"What? So soon?"

"Yeah, it's very important!"

"Did something happen? You look very nervous."

"Aren't you hearing this hiss?"

Valmont was in silence and glanced around himself.

"I hear nothing."

"Impossible!"

"What is impossible?" Catherine asked behind her and Jade yelped, hiding behind Valmont.

"How did she get here so fast?" Jade wondered. The woman would only have arrived so soon if she had run very fast, but she did not look tired at all.

"What's the problem, Shun Li?" Valmont wanted to know.

"She- She was doing a ritual!" Jade finally accused and Valmont raised an eyebrow.

"Ritual?" he repeated. She nodded and pointed at his mother.

"I saw everything! She cut her right wrist and offered me her blood, which is in that glass!"

"Is that true, mother?" he asked in disbelief.

"I think your friend has been reading way too many horror stories," the woman answered showing her wrist, which had absolutely no cut. "As you can see, my wrist is jolly fine."

Jade widened her eyes. "Impossible! I saw when she cut her wrist!"

"Shun Li, my mother does strange things, but never self-mutilation," he whispered at the girl, who stepped back until the door and opened it.

"No, I don't believe it!" she said before leaving and running away. The other two stared at the door in confusion and looked at each other.

"Chinese people are so strange..." she commented and he slowly nodded. "Want juice?" she offered the glass and he frowned.

"Your old recipe?"

"Yes."

"Then no, thanks." He crossed his arms and she began to drink. They went together to the same corridor. "Where have you been until now?"

"In the kitchen."

------

Jackie, Uncle and Tohru looked at the door that was suddenly opened and saw a pale and breathless Jade.

"Jade...?! Did something happen?" Jackie asked worried and his niece nodded.

"You won't believe me!"

After Jade told them what had happened in Valmont's mansion, Uncle prepared a magic locator spell. He did it by using a small cauldron and some simple chi-ingredients, creating a glowing green liquid. He murmured some magic words and dipped the blowfish in the liquid.

"Jackie, did you get the map?" he asked turning to his nephew, who placed a world map on the table.

"Here it is, Uncle-- Ow!" Jackie yelped when Uncle whacked him in the head.

"Don't you think that a Great Britain map would have a much more precise result?" the old man snapped and Jackie rubbed his head where he had been hit.

"Ok, Uncle... I brought that one too," he said walking to a small table with lots of papers.

"But sensei, if the chi in the mansion was so strong that even Jade could feel it, why can't we feel it as well?" Tohru asked and his master was thoughtful.

"Perhaps we have to be near the mansion..."

"Here's the map, Uncle," Jackie said placing a Great Britain map on the world map.

Uncle nodded and removed the blowfish from the cauldron. The liquid in it began to evaporate and soon it was dry, with a weak green glow.

"Now be quiet. Need concentration." Uncle closed his eyes and lifted the blowfish above the map.

Jade sighed and leaned on the closed window. It had begun to rain and it did not look like it would stop so early. That was too bad, since she wanted to take them to Valmont's house and show them that she was right, but Uncle would never leave the apartment with all that rain.

"Uncle..." Jackie suddenly said and the girl turned to them again. The blowfish was not glowing, and Uncle sighed shaking his head.

"There is no trace of dark-chi in the whole Great Britain," he said.

"Are you sure, Uncle?!" Jackie confirmed and he nodded.

"Absolutely."

"No, it can't be!" Jade shouted clenching her fists and approached Uncle. "You have to believe me! Let's go to Valmont's house and I'll show you!"

"Not now," Uncle calmly replied lifting his hand. "I doubt there's anything extraordinary there, but let's wait until it stops raining." He began to head to his room, but before leaving, he stopped and turned to glance at her once more. "But I'm telling you that we are just going to waste our time with that," he said and continued his way.

"Jade, perhaps the fight against Apocalypsium and everybody's death have been too much for you. You'd better rest," Jackie advised placing his hand on her shoulder. He then glanced at the clock. "Oh, it's almost time. I'll be right back."

"Where are you going, Jackie?" Tohru wanted to know.

"I still have to look for that woman," Jackie said before leaving. Tohru approached Jade looking at her with compassion and the girl raised her gaze to him.

"T, you believe, don't you?"

The Japanese man sighed and considered what to answer, rubbing the back of his head.

"Uh... Jade... Uncle's locator spells never fail. Perhaps you are shocked because of everything that happened."

"Tch! Great, now I'm crazy!" she snapped while leaving the room.

"Jade..."

------

Jade locked the door of her room and jumped on her bed. She leaned on the windowsill and stared at the city of London. She still had a strange feeling, as if that energy was watching her. How was it possible that only she noticed that? And she still couldn't understand how Catherine's right wrist had been healed so fast. Maybe Jade was really hallucinating, after all.

**To be continued...**


	7. Invitation to the Dance

This chapter is a bit useless, but this fic won't be as long as my other fics, then I think there's no problem. Thank you very much for those who reviewed and/or signed the petition! 

On a side note: I'm very tired. I've been busy the whole week, and I spent hours translating. In other words, I feel too lazy to spell check properly, and this chapter may have a lot of mistakes. If you note something that doesn't make sense at all, you already know why. 

**VampireNaomi** – And this chapter is so useless that you'll feel disappointed. Why am I so slow?! *sighs* Oh, thank you very much for supporting me yesterday!^^ 

**i dunno** – Thank you! More about Valmont's parents will be explained very soon. And no, I didn't stop translating, thanks to reviewers!^^ 

**Forgotten Love** (for chapter 3) – Wow, thank you! I hope you manage to read the rest soon. Well, this fic was written and translated before "I Know What You Did Last Century". 

***** 

**Chapter 7: Invitation to the Dance**

_Jade was at a beach, observing the horizon. The sky was blue, with no clouds at all. The sun was shining above her and the wind made her hair flow. Jade took a deep breath, smiling peacefully. She didn't remember when it had been the last time she felt so happy and unworried. _

A shadow flew quickly above her and Jade looked upward. Before she could even see what it was, the figure landed behind her. The girl turned around and was surprised when seeing Hsi Wu. 

"Hsi... Wu..." she murmured barely believing in her eyes and the demon smiled. 

"What's the matter, Jade? You look like you have just seen a ghost." he commented and she frowned to remember. Indeed, why was she surprised? 

Jade shook her head and smiled again while walked to him, and then hugged him. 

"I feel like we haven't seen each other for a long while." 

Hsi Wu tilted his head. 

"But we saw each other two hours ago..." he remarked and Jade noted that he began the stare at some thing in the sea. "What is that?" he asked and Jade stopped hugging him to turn around and look at the sea. She slit her eyes and saw that something was floating and approaching the sand. She slowly walked to it. Then drew a deep breath and widened her eyes when noticing what it was. 

"Jackie?"! She ran to him and brought him to the sand. "Jackie! Jackie, talk to me! Say something! Anything!" she yelled desperately and only then saw that he was covered in wounds, and that the sea had turned red. Jade watched the water and noticed it had actually turned blood. She raised her glance and saw that the sky was also red, a bit orange. 

Jade got up and backed away, mentally begging that Hsi Wu protected her. Then she turned around and was surprised to see the sky demon facing a person who was just few meters away from them. 

She was a young woman, perhaps she was not even twenty years old. She was blonde and her hair reached her waist, and was wearing a long black dress. What more attracted attention were her glowing red eyes. Despite that, Jade somehow knew she was not a demon or possessed by one. 

"You are... that woman..." Jade muttered and the woman looked at her as if she had heard that, which made Jade flinch. 

"You will pay for what you did, Shun Li." the woman said with a demon-like voice, smirking coldly, and point at the girl, who was even more surprise and pale when hearing the name 'Shun Li'. Why did that woman think that was her real name? 

She didn't have too much time to think about that, because the woman shot a type of energy ray at her. Jade screamed and tried to escape, but already knew she wouldn't manage to escape. However, Hsi Wu pushed her and save her from the energy. 

The two fell to the ground and Jade quickly knelt down next to him. Blood began to gush and covered the sand. He had been hit in the heart and Jade doubted he was still alive, and had to wonder why the energy had not hit her as well. 

"No... Hsi..." she murmured feeling her eyes being filled of tears and saw a shadow approaching. Before she could even think of doing anything, the woman grabbed her by her collar and lifted her in the air. Then took her free hand to Jade's neck and began to strangle her. Soon the other hand was also suffocating her and it didn't matter how hard Jade tried to break free, the other was much stronger. 

Her sight began to darken and she felt that was about to pass out. Then there was a shine with the reflex of the light of something that appeared behind her. 

"You!" the woman hissed angry. Jade couldn't see who had just arrived, but the reflex of a blueish light came from a necklace in the woman. 

A small golden necklace, with an emerald. It was the only thing that Jade saw before being pulled back, moving away from the woman. She thought she would feel better and that would finally breathe again, but nothing changed. She was still in pain and didn't have strength to stay awake. Her sight was completely gone and then she heard somebody's voice. 

"Shun Li, hold on! 

Then she felt like something had perforated her heart, and finally screamed in pain and agony. 

"...AAAHHHH!!!!!"! Jade opened her eyes and rose to sit on her bed and. She felt her heart beating and her breath difficult. It was raining hard and she felt cold shivers going down her spine when glancing at the window. The clock indicated that it was morning already, although the sky was still a bit dark. 

"Jade, did something happen?" Jackie's worried voice was heard and Jade looked at him. Uncle and Tohru were behind him, equally concerned. 

"N-no, I'm... I'm fine..." she answered. "...I think..." she murmured to herself. 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yeah, I just... had a nightmare." 

The three men glanced at each other and Uncle whispered something to Jackie, nodding at Jade. He and Tohru left the room, and Jackie sat down beside her in the bed. 

"Do you want to talk about that?" 

Jade lowered her head and sighed. 

"I saw you and Hsi Wu in my dream." she said thoughtful and Jackie placed a hand on her shoulder. 

"I understand. I know exactly how you feel..." 

"I also saw that woman we were looking for." the girl completed and Jackie looked confused at her. 

"The one who released Apocalypsium?" 

Jade nodded. 

"Now I know exactly how she looks like. She's a very young woman. Younger than she looked when we saw her in the oracle." 

"Jade... You can't blindly believe in dreams." 

"But Jackie... " Jade then realized he would never understand and that she would have to find that woman on her own. She sighed and looked away angry. 

"I looked for her yesterday." Jackie suddenly said. 

"I know..." Jade answered and looked hopefully at him. "...So? Did you find out something?" she asked and he sighed in frustration. 

"Yes, I found out that finding her will be more difficult than I thought. Blue-eyed blonde women are not rare in England." 

Jade rolled her eyes, then thought of something. 

"Maybe that's not her real appearance! Maybe she's disguised!" 

"Well..." Jackie said thoughtful. "...Maybe. And if that's truth, it will be even more difficult." 

Jade quickly stood up in determination. 

"No problem! We'll find her no matter what! If she is very young, perhaps she goes to the school, or some university!" 

"I think-" 

"Oh, no! I'm late! I gotta go to school now!" Jade said hastily after glancing at the clock, ignoring her uncle, who sighed. 

"Well... Then you look for her in your school." 

-+-+-+-+-

Jade ran for the sidewalk cursing the rain and the skirt she was using. She was not used to wear skirts, and couldn't stop thinking that at any moment a wind could blow and embarrass her. And the rain was not helping at all, Jade was afraid that she would end up slipping in a puddle while wearing the skirt. But she didn't have time to walk slowly, or else she would be late. 

The only good thing was that her school bag was very light, like it was empty. 

"Wait a minute..." Jade said to herself. "...Why is my school bag so light ONLY today??" 

She suddenly stopped and opened the bag. It was completely empty, without a note or pencil. Jade screamed desperately, without caring for the strange stares she was getting from the people around. 

"My material!!!! Where is it??? Where is it???" She turned pale. "My homework... My dissertation... My biology project..." she stuttered when remembering all her lost work. She sighed heavily and lowered her head. "Oh boy ..." 

-+-+-+-+-

"You are late, miss Leng." the middle-aged teacher stated sharply. Jade suppressed the desire to snap something. 

"Sorry, the bus was late, actually." she replied breathless and the man looked at her up and down. Although she had used an umbrella all the time, she was almost all wet because of the rain. He snorted in despise to the obvious lie and pointed to a desk at the back of the room. 

"I excuse you this time, but I hope that never happens again. You may sit there." he said and she walked discouraged to her place. "And I also hope that all of you have done dissertation." he continued. 

"Oh no..." Jade whispered beating her head against the desk, but then a boy tapped her in the shoulder. Jade turned to look at him and saw that he was holding her material. 

"V said this is for you." he said giving her the material and only then she remembered that had forgotten it in Valmont's house, since she had run away from there. Jade looked at Valmont, who was some desks ahead, close to the wall. He was looking at for her from the corner of his eyes, but when their gazes met, he quickly looked away. 

"Miss Leng." the teacher's voice was heard beside Jade and she yelped. "Your dissertation." he demanded and Jade gulped. At Valmont's house, she had even written one paragraph, but that would not be enough. 

'Well, one paragraph is better than nothing...' she thought nervously while looking for the right page. She was openmouthed and almost dropped the notebook when seeing an enormous text with almost five pages. 

"Excellent." the teacher praised after reading some of the text. "Do not forget to write it up and bring it tomorrow." he said giving her the notebook and Jade unconsciously nodded. 

-+-+-+-+-

"Lunchtime definitively is the best time of the day." Jade said to herself while walking for the corridor. She glanced around herself looking for Valmont, but didn't see him anywhere. 

"Shun Li!" Sara called from the other side of the corridor and ran to Jade, who smiled cheerily and raised a hand to greet her. 

"Hi, what's up?" she asked. 

"Aww, the classes have not been the same without you... I think I will move to the medicine classes too..." Sara answered while they two headed to the canteen and Jade snorted. 

"No need to. I think it's me who's going to change. Medicine is very boring and difficult!" 

Sara smiled suggestively. 

"But then you won't be able to stay with V... And I always found you a cute couple..." she commented and Jade frowned. 

"Tch! It is nothing you're thinking! I just..." she stopped when thought that maybe it was dangerous to talk about that. Sara looked curiously at her friend, who shook her head. 

"Ah, never mind. Talk later." 

The German girl was about to say something, but a poster in the wall of the corridor caught her attention. 

"Look, Shun Li! There will be a dance next week! You are going, aren't you??" 

"I don't know. If someone invites me..." the Chinese girl answered shrugging. Sara was thoughtful for a moment and winked, smiling slyly. "Then you are going." 

-+-+-+-+-

"Who are you going to invite to the dance?" Ritchie asked while he, Mitchel and Valmont watched the poster. 

"Invite? Dance? You're joking, right?" Mitchel replied and the other two glanced at each other. 

"Uh... No?" 

"I do not go to these dances just to date, I go just to have fun and drink until falling unconscious." 

Valmont rolled his eyes and Ritchie lifted a brow. 

"That is a romantic dance. Only couples can go." Ritchie explained simply and Mitchel read the poster. 

"Darn! You're right" he muttered punching the wall. 

"So... who are you going to invite?" Ritchie asked again. 

-+-+-+-+-

Jade had just eaten lunch and looked at the window beside her. The sky was still dark and it was rained hard. She sighed and turned to look at Sara. 

"Do you think it's going to stop raining someday?" she asked sarcastically and Sara smiled. 

"No wonder why English people usually complain about the weather." 

"They do?" 

"Yes, at least the ones who I know. But V is who complains the most. Perhaps because he stays at home when it rains." 

"I imagine how horrible that is." Jade murmured and he/she drank some juice. 

"Speaking of that, how was your visit to V's house? Did you meet his mother?" 

Jade almost choked. 

"Unfortunately yes..." 

"Did you follow my advices?" 

Jade flinched and sipped her juice. 

"Uh... Yeah, sure." 

"Oh, then it must not have been so bad." 

A silent while passed before Jade started to speak again. 

"Sara... When you went to his house... did something strange happen?" 

"Not really, but..." she hesitated. 

"But what?" 

"I-" 

"Sara, my dear friend!!!" Mitchel interrupted friendly tapping her back, or at least supposedly friendly, since she felt like she was going to lose her lungs. 

"What do you want, Mit?" she asked angry and he sat beside her, holding her hands. 

"Nobody has invited you to the dance yet, right?" 

"No, why?" Sara asked and then narrowed her eyes. "Don't tell me you want to go with me...?" 

"Yes!" 

"No!" 

"Why not?" 

"One, a teacher going out with a student is anti-ethic. Two, you want to go with me just to enter the dance and get drunk. Three, I do not intend to spend the whole night taking care of a drunk. Four, you are a jerk. And five, I would really like to have a romantic night in that dance, and I am sure you are not the right person." 

Mitchel stared at the German girl for a while before suddenly turning to Jade and hold her hands. 

"Shun Li, my dear friend! Would you like to go to the dance with me?" he asked and Jade's expression darkened. 

"No!" she answered so sharply and coldly that he immediately let go of her hands and backed away, laughing nervously. 

"All right, then..." 

"Now get out. We are going to have an exam after the lunch and you are disturbing us." Sara said making a gesture at him to go away and he pointed at her. 

"Just wait to see your next physics grade." he threatened joking and ran to the next table with girls. 

-+-+-+-+-

"Tch... I hate exams..." Jade complained alone while went out through school gate and walked for the sidewalk. She lowered her head because of the fatigue, but then saw somebody's feet at her right site, and raised the umbrella so that she could look at that person. Valmont was leaned on the wall of the school, quietly watching her, and she still stared at him slightly confused, but then remembered something. 

"V, I wanted to talk to you." she said smiling and he looked away in thought. 

"I know. Me too." 

He stood away from the wall and began to walk. Jade walked beside him, with a curious expression. 

"Really? Why?" she asked. 

"I wanted to apologize if my mother did some strangeness yesterday. But she is not really dangerous, you know..." he said and Jade slowly nodded, although she felt like expressing an opposite opinion. 

"Oh, thank you for doing my biology dissertation. I'd be in trouble if you haven't done it for me." Jade said smiling and he weakly smiled back. 

"You are welcome." 

"But man, you wrote almost five pages!" Jade remarked impressed. 

"I was going to write more, but I had a lot a hard time to disguise the handwriting, so I didn't have time to write a better text." he said in a sorry tone and Jade raised a brow. 

"Uh... it's ok. Thanks." Then thought of something. "Hey, did you have to fight against the ninjas last night? 

"Yes, why?" 

"Don't you think it's tiring to fight them every night?" 

Valmont shrugged. 

"And what choice do I have? Then again, when I am at home, the ninjas are not so numerous. 

"Really? I didn't know that." Jade was thoughtful for a short moment "I bet they will disturb a lot when you're in the dance." she remarked, then smirked. "Sounds fun! It must be cool to defeat a lot of ninjas before everybody's eyes at the school. Actually, I always wanted to do that!" she said remembering how much she had liked to prove to everybody of her classroom, specially Drew, that she really fought against the Shadowkhan. 

"Well... then..." Valmont said nervously and she returned to the reality. 

"Uh? What?" 

He bit a lip and squeezed his school bag with his two hands. 

"...since you enjoy that..." he continued in a low tone, looking to take advantage of the umbrella to hide his blushing face. 

"Yes...?" 

"I was wondering... if you would like to go to the dance with me..." 

Jade blinked twice. Then thought, that would be a great opportunity to find out something about the ninjas, like their weak point, and maybe even something about that woman. Maybe she should let them take the key and so that she could follow them until the woman who released Apocalypsium. Thus she would defeat her, destroy the key and to save the future. Perfect! 

"Sure, V!" she answered happily and they stopped when their paths would divide. He turned to glance at her, this time smiling more self-confident. 

"Thank you, Shun Li. Until tomorrow, then." he said before going away. Jade watched him. She still found strange that he spoke in such a polite and shy way at times. She could even understand the politeness, but he had never seemed to be a shy person. Perhaps it was just because... he liked her? 

The mere thought made her blush and she shook her head. 

"Hello, Jade?! It's not time to think of things like this!" she snapped at herself and looked at him again. 

'After all... he still has to fall in love for Sara... And you have Hsi...' 

She placed her hand in the heart, feeling a sharp pain that made her remember her dream. 

**To be continued...**


	8. The Ninjas Attack Again

This chapter is kinda boring because of the flashbacks, but at least I could add some action in the end. It's a bit rushed, though. Thank you very much for the reviews! 

**VampireNaomi** – Do you see? Haa, Hsi Wu and Sara won't like it at all, then. Fortunately (or not...) for you, this fic is near to end, so all the mystery will be solved very soon. 

**Jade a.k.a I dunno** – Uh, no, you changed your nick again! I can't remember the last one very well, so I wrote the one that you used to review. I have tons of nicks too. :P Glad that you liked the chapter! Don't worry, all the explanations will come as soon as I finish the flashbacks marathon. Haha, is a shy Valmont so hard to imagine? I have to disagree, I think that yaoi fics with him are the most OOC and hard to imagine. Although I have to admit that a shy Valmont indeed is a bit OOC. The only thing that saves me is that he's still a teenager in this story... 

**Forgotten Love** – Can you believe that I just realized why you apologized days after I asked you the reason? Gee, I'm really dumb! Wow, it seems that Valmont blushing caused some impact, huh? I'm so happy that you liked it! You and the other reviews keep me writing and posting! 

------

**Chapter 8: The Ninjas Attack Again**

Jade moved away the phone from her ear when Sara screamed. 

_"IS THAT TRUE?? YOU'RE GOING WITH V???"_

"Yeah, I am..." 

_"How cute!!"_

Jade sighed, and could not help but feeling a sting in her conscience. Maybe it had not been such a great idea to accept his invitation, after all. It seemed that the more she was close to Valmont, the less were the chances of Sara fall in love for him. If it continued like this, Julia would never be born. 

_"You are very lucky, did you know that?"_ the German girl said a bit calmer. 

"Oh, really? Why?" Jade asked with no enthusiasm. 

_"Ah, it's because V is kind of anti-social. He never liked those things, never had lots of friends, he's usually cold and all... And now it seems that the Cupid's arrow finally got his heart! Girl, you did the impossible!"_

"Yeah, but..." Jade said accidentally aloud. 

_"Hmm...? But what?"_

"...It's just that..." she hesitated for a moment. "I don't know, sometimes I think he actually likes you..." 

Sara was in silence for some seconds before replying. 

_"Nah, I don't think so."_ she said and Jade could swear she had heard a slight suggestion of sadness in her voice. 

"Come on, seriously. You like him, don't you?" 

Sara snorted. _"That idiot? Of course not!"_

Jade smiled. 

"You haven't forgiven him yet? In fact, why are you angry at him again?" she asked doubting that her friend remembered the reason and was just too proud to admit that. 

_"Heh, it's a long story. I tell you later, I have to hang up now."_

Jade rolled her eyes. She knew that Sara would change the subject. 

"Alright... Then, until the dance." she said and thought have heard a sigh. 

_"Yeah... the dance. Bye."_

Jade frowned. Now she was sure that Sara had a problem. Had she said something wrong? 

-=-=-=-=-=-

Sara hung up and lied in her bed to stare at the ceiling. All the girls of the school had already been invited, minus her. Actually, she had been invited, bur refused. She thought that her Chinese friend and Valmont made a cute couple, but perhaps she still had hopes. Which didn't make sense, Valmont was just a friend, not even her best friend. 

Despite her nice character, Sara never had a best friend. She had a lot of friends, indeed, but nobody who she could really trust, someone that understood her. And she suffered with this complex since she was twelve. Ironically, that was in the same time when she met Valmont. 

Her father was an English businessman and had come from Germany to a business meeting in London. A friend of his, very rich, had offered the hospitality of his mansion to the newcomer family. In that time, Sara spoke almost no English, and had been a little unsure. The man who helped them had a wife and a son. And soon they would have another child. The German girl had no idea how everybody knew that, since she had not seen anything special in the woman. But if the adults were sure about her being pregnant, she would not question them. 

It was not an unhappy family, but it was not a happy one either. Everything was very formal, with etiquette rules that Sara insisted on breaking. She never liked that, it was not natural of the human being. She tried to ignore the looks of disapproving and despise she got from the other family and the looks of embarrassment and reproaching from her own family. 

Fortunately, it had not taken too long for her to make friends with the boy. Gradually, she found out that he was not as bad as she had thought. They even got along very well. 

Then one day they were walking for the pavement and suddenly her gaze stopped in a store window. With her twelve and a half years, Sara already had a consumerist spirit about fashion. It was not something really valuable or beautiful, but just a black blouse. She loved black, it was one of her favorite colors. 

Nevertheless, she did not have her own money. She asked her father but he said that his business was not going very well and he could not waste money with unnecessary things. After all, she still had many clothes to wear, it was not an emergency situation. 

Then she asked Valmont to tell his parents that her birthday had been last month and they still could give her a present. However, his father's healthy was getting worse and the family and concentrating the expenses in his physicals and medicines. 

But Sara would not give up. At the school where they studied, there was a very rich boy who received an allowance and had the habit of saving money to buy something just for himself in the end of every month. Then, he probably would not miss some notes, right? 

Even Valmont had not known about her plans. In the lunch break, she carefully got to the lockers after making sure that nobody was near and with a hair clip she managed to unlock the boy's locker. Although she had felt like taking all the money, she just took the necessary. 

Valmont had said that she should take all the money, but she had already made her mind. Then he took the rest of the money, and she didn't even argue with him about that. 

It certainly had not been their luck day. A boy saw everything and did not hesitate in telling the teachers. Valmont's parents did not show any reaction in front of other people – but perhaps they had scolded him later – but her own father was really disappointed. Her mother did not take it so seriously, since she had been a professional spy in the war. 

The following months were a mental torture for Sara. All her friends in the school kept distance from her or acted coldly towards her, and the adults, including her father, treated her as if she were a delinquent, even when she swore she would never do that again. 

Things were not any better to Valmont. Soon the atmosphere in the mansion got so tense that Sara's family had to leave and go back to Germany. They would see ach other only some years later, at the high school. 

Apparently, he had not changed at all, except for the fact that he looked a little confused. Sometimes he looked like he was feeling tied by some sort of force that was impeding his freedom. 

And the reason was so obvious... 

Sara saw strange things when she visited him after such a long time away, which made her suspect that something extreme had happened. She could try to guess it was because of his father's death, but then she realized the problem was more complex. It seemed to involve one night and a trip to Asia. And those two events caused a radical change in his mother, Catherine. The woman was no longer herself. It was as if she had been replaced by someone, or like some people would say, her soul had been corrupted. 

The suspicion took Sara to believe that Catherine was responsible for the appearance of the ninjas, and convinced Valmont, Mitchel and Ritchie to test. When the ninjas attacked, they would attract them until her. For everyone's surprise, the ninjas almost killed her, she had luck for surviving that night. In the following day, they all had to come up with an excuse and explain that she must have dreamed or something like that. 

During all that confusion, Sara began to re-approach her old friend. Although she tried to convince herself of the contrary, perhaps he meant to her more than a simple friend. 

Or not... Sara did not know. She didn't know what love was. The only thing that moved her was her nice personality, her curiosity and her pride. 

A sudden phone ring right beside her made her wake up with a startle and she quickly rose to answer it. 

"Hello..." 

_"Sara, my friend! Are you sure you don't want to go to the dance with me?"_ Mitchel's cynic voice asked and Sara sighed heavily. She glanced at a picture next to her. It was a picture of when they were still in the beginning of high school. She concentrated her look on Valmont and frowned. 

"I'll go with you." she said firmly. 

_"Really?!"_

With no more words, she hung up violently and moved the picture away to avoid glancing at it again. Then lied in her bed again, her face down,. 

"So pathetic..." she muttered. 

-=-=-=-=-=-

Mitchel hung up and leaned back in his chair, smiling in victory. 

"I am really great." 

-=-=-=-=-=-

"Jade." Jackie called opening entering her room and she looked away from her biology books to her uncle. 

"What?" she asked slightly alarmed. 

"Come here, please." he said seriously and Jade got up to follow him until the living room. When they arrived, she watched how uncle held his blowfish above a map of Great-Britain, the same they had used to locate magic in Valmont's mansion. This time, the blowfish was glowing more intensely. 

"What happened, Uncle?" she asked carefully. 

"The locator spell has detected magic in the city." Tohru answered for his master, who was too concentrated on his spell. 

"Magic? Where exactly?" 

The three men quickly glanced at each other. 

"I think you know the place." 

Jade widened her eyes. "Valmont's mansion? I was right??" 

"No." Uncle finally said and pointed to a specific point in the map. Jade approached to see it and was both surprised and confused when recognized the indicated place. 

"Wait! Isn't it where... Sara lives??" 

-=-=-=-=-=-

Valmont was thoughtful, seated in the sofa of the living room, caressing his white cat. he glanced at the clock and saw it was eleven thirty in the night. Soon he would have to leave in order not to endanger his mother. 

"You are a little nervous today." Catherine remarked approaching him. 

"No, it's just you." he replied not bothering to hide the hint of sarcasm in his voice, which made her frown. 

"Come on, tell me. What are you thinking about?" she asked crossing her arms and he looked at her. 

"I want to know what happened in that cave." he demanded sharply. 

"Cave? What cave?" the woman asked cynically. 

"You know quite well. After leaving me in Sri Lanka, you went to somewhere in China, near Nepal." 

"Ohh... You still think that man told you the truth...? You know how those people are. Anything that happens has a divine meaning. I already explained that story to you about one million times." she said rubbing on o her temples to pretend to have a headache. 

"And I still don't believe you!" 

"Shut up, that is not my problem! You remind me of those monks, just a pity that you learned only what you didn't have to." 

"Mo-" He immediately stopped when she gestured at him to stay quiet and turned around. 

"Do not yell, I'm going to sleep now. You should do it too." she snapped and left the room to go upstairs and then to her room. 

Valmont observed how the cat became hostile again as the silence got intense again. It used to happen some while ago, but it has lately become more common. And very suspicious too. 

After Sara had proposed that test and everyone had seen that Catherine could not control the ninjas, Valmont had relaxed a bit about it. But something that had happened three years ago was still a mystery. 

In order to turn him more disciplined, his mother had taken him to Sri Lanka for training. Because there was nothing interesting to do there, Catherine decided to travel to other places in Asia. She then arrived in a small city in China, next to the frontier with Nepal. There was a tour group and she was with them when for a distraction – she said – ended up moving away from the group and found a cave. 

And inside that cave, there was a strange energy. Anyone could feel it. Nobody knew what had happened in that cave before two archeologists had found her. At first, they had hesitated in entering. Only one of them went in. After about thirty minutes, the archeologist who was outside heard his companion screaming and rushed inside to help him. 

He sure was cautious, and after running for a labyrinth, he found a blonde woman unconscious in the end of the corridor and a skeleton with clothes. The other archeologist's clothes. Then he knew, someone – or something – had killed him. He did not know how and why the woman's life had been spared. It was also intriguing that the clothes and the skeleton of the man had been the only things remaining. 

The living archeologist was even afraid of the woman fearing that she had been the killer, somehow. However, after a quick look at her, he saw she was just a normal woman. She was probably another victim, her head was hurt and bleeding. Observing the cave, he reached to the conclusion that a part of it had collapsed. 

Without many options left, he took the woman to the nearest hospital. When she woke up, she did not remember what had happened in the cave and wanted to tell her son that she was going back to England. He accompanied her until Sri Lanka and when he and Valmont were far away from Catherine, the man told him the whole story. 

And now, Valmont felt surrounded. After that incident, his mother recovered her characteristic coldness, but now it was not something natural. She had changed. 

He quietly followed her until her room and watched how he lied in her bed. It did not look like she was going to get up again tonight. Sometimes he even tried to believe her, but it felt strange. 

This mansion was strange. Everything seemed to be in the wrong place, in the wrong time. 

Ten to midnight. It was time to go. 

-=-=-=-=-=-

Jade huddled with the cold and sighed. She, her uncles and Tohru were in front of the building where Sara lived. 

"Jade." Jackie said placing his hand on her shoulder. "This may be our chance to destroy Apocalypsium. Do exactly as we told you." 

The girl nodded and walked to the door. After a short talk with the sleepy porter, who told Sara about the Chinese girl, she went to her friend's apartment. 

"Shun Li..." Sara said looking like she just woke up. "...What? Did something happen?" 

"Uh... Look, we gotta talk." 

"Now? It's past midnight..." 

"I know, but it's kinda... important." 

"Ok... Come in..." Sara invite, yawning and stepping back so that Jade could enter. "So, what's the urgency...?" 

"Uh... Can I see your room?" Jade asked smiling nervously. 

-=-=-=-=-=-

Jackie sighed impatiently and raised his glance when seeing Jade saying good-bye to a very confused Sara. His niece approached them looking tired. 

"So?" Uncle asked and she shook her head. 

"There's nothing strange there. Her room doesn't even have many things. I checked the whole apartment and didn't see anything suspicious. Tch, now she probably thinks I'm crazy for coming here early. Oh, yes! There's one thing! She was very unlucky tonight. At least three accidents happened each five minutes." 

"Then... we are back to square one." Jackie muttered and Uncle was thoughtful. 

"Unlucky, you say?" he confirmed. "Perhaps-" Before he could finish, the group was surrounded by the ninjas that attacked Valmont at midnight. Although it was past midnight and Valmont was nowhere to be seen. 

-=-=-=-=-=-

And in a large and deserted area, Valmont stood waiting, his arms crossed. The clock indicated it was twenty past one in the morning, and the ninjas had not appeared. 

"I knew it! And she slept early tonight!" he muttered and decided to go home. Now nothing could convince him that Catherine was innocent. 

-=-=-=-=-=-

"U-Uncle... Do you know how to defeat them with some magic?" Jackie asked while they were being more and more surrounded. 

"No." the old man answered shortly and Jackie flinched. 

"Then we'll have to just kick their butts!" Jade said smirking self-confidently and was about to charge at them when Jackie pulled her back. 

"Jade, I think you should find out why these ninjas are here." 

Jade raised a brow. "Huh? What do you mean?" 

"I mean that you should ask Sara. She probably knows what's going on." 

"Oh, alright..." 

The ninjas began to attack the group and while Jackie and Tohru fought them, Jade and Uncle ran to the building. 

"Listen, Jade." Uncle said while they went upstairs. "Perhaps you should find out where Valmont is, too." 

"That's really weird... Do you think he knows what's going on here?" 

"Don't know." 

They arrived at Sara's apartment and Jade knocked in the door. There was no answer and she tried again, unsuccessful. 

"Maybe she's sleeping." 

"Then go talk to Valmont while Uncle takes care of this." 

"Ok!" Jade went back to the ground floor and noted that the porter had fallen asleep. She shook her head and took the telephone next to him, still taking some minutes to remember the number. 

-=-=-=-=-=-

It was very cold and dark in the mansion, and the silence was broke only for eventual sounds from outside. Valmont stood in front of his mother's room and quietly opened the door. 

Catherine was peacefully sleeping. It was even hard to believe that she was guilty. He slit his eyes and observed the whole room. There was not anything strange there. His look stopped in a drawer where she used to keep her files and documents. When he entered the room to go check the drawer, the telephone rang noisily and he flinched, leaving the room and closing the door as fast as he could. 

In the living room, he glanced around himself to make sure he was alone and answered the phone. 

"Yes?" he said and after some seconds his expression turned surprised. "What?!" 

-=-=-=-=-=-

"Argh! When we defeat one of them more five come! This will never end!" Jackie complained while trying to dodge the countess simultaneous blows from the ninjas. At this point, Jade had already come back to help them, but the situation was still out of control. 

Tohru threw two of them at a car and other jumped on his back. He turned around to throw him too and that one fell in front of a white-haired young man. 

"Valmont is here!" Jade announced and the other two men barely could see him approaching due to the constant attacks. 

"What's the meaning of this?!" Valmont asked astonished. 

"That's what I was going to ask you!" Jade replied. 

-=-=-=-=-=-

"Got it!" Uncle stated while he unlocked the door with a simple spell. He pushed the door without having to make effort and saw Sara in front of the window, apparently watching something outside. Then he realized, she was watching the fight. But didn't look concerned, just concentrated. 

Some objects in the apartment began to shake, fall and break. The old chi wizard could feel a strong dark chi. The same chi that had attracted them to this place. And it was so strong that he had to make an effort to approach her. 

Sara slit her eyes when seeing Valmont joining the group. For a brief moment – about five seconds – her expression demonstrated slight surprise. She muttered some quiet words and suddenly the energy disappeared, causing Uncle to lose his balance and almost fall on the girl. 

She, on the other hand, did lose her balance and fell unconscious. 

-=-=-=-=-=-

"Huh? Where did they go?" Jade asked in confusion when the ninjas retreated. Jackie and Tohru looked around themselves but the streets were completely deserted. 

"As soon as Valmont arrived, they went away..." Tohru whispered at his friend, who stared seriously at the two youngsters. 

"This looks like a type of ambush..." 

-=-=-=-=-=-

"Hey, you! Girl! Sara!" Uncle called shaking her trying to wake her up. She opened her eyes and looked completely confused. 

"Who are you?" she asked and the old man noticed from the window that the fight was over and the group had been separated in two, each duo staring at each other. 

-=-=-=-=-=-

"Do I know you from somewhere?" Valmont asked looking at Jackie and the other three flinched. 

"No, of course not! That's impossible! How can you have known him if you two never met before?" Jade said pushing him away from the group. She quickly turned around and gestured at them to let them go so that they would not take any risks. At that moment, Uncle left the building with Sara. 

"What happened?" he wanted to know and his nephew just shrugged. 

"I have no idea. Perhaps Jade can tell us after a talk with him." 

"Oh, now I remember! You are Shin Li's relatives, aren't you?" Sara said smiling and they looked at her. "But what are you doing here at this time?" 

-=-=-=-=-=-

"What? You don't know why they didn't attack you?!" 

"No, I have no idea." 

Jade sighed and they stopped in front of the mansion's gate. 

"That man who was with you... Are you sure we never met? He looked familiar since the first time I saw him." 

"No, I'm sure! We lived in a small village in China, I don't think you have been there." 

"I see." 

"Well, gotta go now. Bye!" She waved her hand while going away. Valmont went in the mansion and when got to the living room, almost yelped in surprise when saw Catherine seated in the sofa, drinking a glass of wine. 

"What are you doing here?" he asked and she stood up after placing the glass on a little table. 

"The question is: what are _you_ doing here? Where have you been?" 

"It's not of your concern! I don't have to tell you anything!" He headed to his room and Catherine watched him for a while before smirking coldly. 

**To be continued...**

A/N: Long chapter, huh? 


	9. The Black Cat

I'm sorry for not updating since June! I never thought I writer's block could be so devastating. But actually, I was going to update this fic only next year. I'm so ashamed...

The least I can do now is apologise, thank the wonderful reviewers, and present you the ninth chapter.

**VampireNaomi** – Thanks. I really like suspense, but I never thought I could write it very well. I'm sorry for taking longer to update than I promised, but I hope you like this chapter. To tell you the truth, it was very fun to write its second half. And since this fic is near its end, all the mysteries will soon be solved. I just have to be careful with that part. Thanks a lot for the criticism. If you pay attention, you'll see that I no longer use more than one exclamation or question mark and capital letters unnecessarily. Now I'm criticising other authors for the same reason, though.

**Forgotten Love** – I don't know about VampireNaomi, but I am not plotting against you. I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one as well. If you ever read this, that is. Where are you?! Have you abandoned us already? Please, come back!

**xtjade** – Yeah, maybe they're all possessed! I love it when that happens. I hope that you didn't give up reading this fic during the long while since the last update. Hopefully, this chapter will have some more mystery.

* * *

**Chapter 9: The Black Cat**

Jade watched how Catherine served her tea and sat down on the sofa, beside her black cat. She had not said anything special for quite a while and Jade had no idea what the woman wanted with her.

"So... what did you want to tell me?" she asked, tired of waiting. Catherine sipped her tea as if she had not heard her and started at nothing for some seconds before glancing at the Chinese girl and smile slightly.

"I'll get straight to the point. I had always thought that my son would date that German girl. After all, they're childhood friends. But... it seems that I was wrong."

Jade immediately blushed and almost dropped her cup of tea.

"What?! No, no, you got it all wrong! V is not my boyfriend!" she quickly said.

"But aren't you going together to your school's dance? It is a special event."

"Yes, but..." Jade looked away and noticed that the black cat was staring at her. Jade could not help but feel cold shivers going down her spine; the cat's golden and deep eyes were demonic. As she stared back at them, she had the feeling that she had seen something in the cat's eyes. It was very fast, but it seemed to be a red glow.

Jade paled and looked away again.

"But what?" Catherine asked, reminding Jade that they were talking. The girl looked down when she noted that the black cat was at her feet, preparing to leap onto her lap.

And as soon as it did so, Jade yelped.

"What is it? Don't you like cats?" the woman asked and Jade forced a smile.

"Just imagine! I love cats!" she said and began to caress it, already a bit calmer. Then it lied down on her lap, purring. Jade smiled, relieved. The red glow had probably been the reflection of some light or just her imagination. This was an ordinary cat, after all.

"So, Shun Li..." Catherine started, sitting closer to the girl. "I have something for you."

Jade looked at her a bit surprised. "Something for me?"

"It's a present," the woman said while taking a small blue box that was on the coffee table and still watched it carefully for a moment before handing it to Jade, who took it unsure. She glanced at it then at Catherine, who was smiling at her and waiting that Jade opened her present.

"T-Thanks..." she said, smiling back, and finally opened the box. She widened her eyes in awe as she saw a diamond ring. The ring itself was made of pure gold and the diamond was not big, but it was the most beautiful thing that she had ever seen.

"Do you like it?" Catherine asked with a triumphant smile.

"It's... It's beautiful..." Jade answered, her eyes sparkling. She then put the ring on her middle finger of her right hand and kept staring at the jewel, amazed.

"That's my way to show how happy I am for you and my son being together," Valmont's mother said, making the girl come back to the reality and stare at her.

"What?! No, but I... You... We're not..." she stuttered and noted that the other's expression was serious again. Then, she lowered her glance and ended up looking at the ring. What would Catherine do if she understood that Jade and Valmont were not dating? In fact, they were not even friends; Jade had tried to get closer to him just to find out where the key was. She would _never_ be his friend, even if his daughter was Julia – whose friendship was very questionable sometimes.

On the other hand, it was not a good idea to go against Catherine. She was not exactly a very sane person...

Yang rubbed his head against Jade's hand to attract her attention and she caressed it again. She had not lied when she said she liked cats; she had even had a white cat named Ruby, which she had found in Morocco – and which she had to give away because Uncle was allergic to cats.

However, she noticed something on its skin. It seemed to be a black spot and Jade remembered that she had already seen it once. She looked for it again until finding a Chinese ideogram. When she saw it completely, she widened her eyes. It was the ideogram that represented 'evil', the same ideogram she had seen on the strange ninjas' backs and foreheads.

As if the cat had noticed Jade's shock, it bristled and stuck his claws on Jade's legs. She yelped and it leaped onto Catherine's lap, facing Jade with those demonic eyes yet again. Jade immediately stood up and walked back to the door.

"L-Look, thanks a lot for the... p-present, but..." Her hand finally found the doorknob and she opened the door, trying hard to keep smiling. "... I gotta go home now," she quickly said and left, almost forgetting to close the door behind her.

Then, she ran as fast as she could to the bus stop. She eagerly awaited for some minutes, which felt like hours to her. When she finally got to Shun Li's flat, she went upstairs very quickly and opened the door almost battering it down.

Seemingly, Uncle was the only one in the flat; he was alone in the living room, which centre was empty so that he could paint a complicated magic symbol on the floor and spread several objects around it. Now he was in the middle of the symbol standing on one foot, holding the blowfish in his right hand and a small jug with incense in his left hand, in front of a map of Great Britain that he had hanged on the wall.

"Still trying to find her, Uncle?" Jade asked, panting. Uncle stood on his two feet and stared at her a bit confused. She waited for him to say something, but he was silent. The girl approached him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Forget those locator spells, Uncle! I think I just found a great clue!" she said and he kept staring at her, this time suspiciously. Jade frowned. "It's true! I'll show you! Where're Jackie and Tohru?"

"They must be looking for her as well," Uncle finally spoke, still staring oddly at her.

"Tch. Then we have to wait for them."

"Jade..."

"Huh?"

"Where did you get that ring?"

Jade raised her hand to see the ring, smiling pleased.

"Oh, it's a present. It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Present?"

"Yeah, from Valmont's mom. She thinks we're dating and-"

"Aiyah!" Uncle interrupted, back to his usual self. "Jade, you're hooooorrible at choosing boyfriends, did you know that?"

Jade looked angry at him, ready to defend herself. However, at that exact moment Jackie and Tohru arrived. The girl turned to them, looking anxious again.

"You're back! Good, now you come with me to Valmont's house!"

"Uh? What?" Jackie asked, confused. He then placed his hand on his niece's shoulder to calm her down. "Wait a minute, Jade. Are you sure that's a good idea? The last time, he almost recognised me, remember?"

"Don't worry, Jackie. Valmont won't leave his room the whole day because he's studying for tomorrow's exam. And if he leaves anyway, I'll distract him."

Jackie crossed his arms. "You'll have that exam too, won't you?"

"Uh... Yes, but that's not important now!"

"Jade..." Jackie called rather calmly.

"Huh?"

"Where did you get that ring?"

Jade sighed in frustration. Why did nobody take her seriously?

She looked at Tohru pleadingly. The Japanese man nervously glanced at right and left before saying, "Hmm... Well, I think we should see what Jade is trying to show us, right?" he suggested.

------

And so, Jackie and Uncle reluctantly decided to go to Valmont's house. Jade was sure that at least Uncle would notice something wrong there and would prove that she was telling the truth all the time.

The quartet stopped in front of the door, staring at it nervously – except for Uncle, who was rather calm. Although none of them had knocked at the door or rung the bells or even spoken anything, Catherine opened the door. The three men blinked in confusion and Jade smiled, waving at her.

"Heh... Hi. Er... Sorry for having left in such a hurry. But look, I brought my relatives so that you can... know one another."

Catherine glanced carefully at each one of them before opening the door completely.

"Come in," she said quietly.

They all entered and headed to the living room, a bit hesitant. The woman was not there anymore. Jackie and Tohru glanced around hoping that Valmont would not show up. Jade was the only one who was making herself at home, though she was quite anxious yet.

Uncle observed each detail of the living room, deep in thought.

"Why isn't there anyone here? Not even a maid or a butler?" he questioned.

"Because they're all gone," a cold voice replied behind him and he widened his eyes in surprise before frowning and turning to look seriously at the blonde woman. She ignored him and sat down on the sofa. On the coffee table, there was a tray with a teapot and five cups. "Tea?" she offered.

"Oh, yes, thank you," Jackie said. Tohru approached as well to help himself to tea, although he could not sit down for being too big. Uncle sat down between Jackie and Jade and sipped his tea in suspicion.

"Hmm... The five cups were already here... How did she know that we four would come?" he murmured so quietly that no one heard him. Jade noted that the woman did not stop looking at Uncle in amusement, as if she were waiting for him to say something she knew he would sooner or later. And, apparently, Uncle also noticed it.

------

Valmont closed his biology book and lied down on his bed, annoyed. Even though he sometimes tried to remind himself that being a doctor would make him rich and have social status, that career was too difficult and he could not stand it.

He felt something moving onto his bed and turned to see his white cat Yin. He smiled feebly and caressed it. He glanced at the box on the desk and took it to open it and examine the golden key inside it. Odd, after the incident in front of Sara's flat, the ninjas never appeared again.

In fact, the key itself looked different. Valmont had the feeling that it was losing its gleam. He had even tried to polish it, but it was useless. As if the key were losing something more. Its magic, perhaps.

Since the door of his room was open, he thought he had heard someone talking downstairs. He put away the key and left the room, followed by the cat. Voices echoed weakly through the corridors and he guessed there were four or five people in the living room.

He silently went downstairs and walked to the door, taking a peep at the centre of the living room. He widened his eyes as he saw that it was Shun Li and her strange relatives there with his mother.

Valmont retreated and leaned against the wall, feeling his heart beating faster and his breath difficult. What were they doing there?

Although part of him wanted him to go back to his room, his curiosity was stronger and Valmont took at look at them again. For a brief moment, he thought his mother had glanced at him and felt cold shivers going down his spine, but then convinced himself that she would have said something or scolded him like happened before. In fact, she looked distracted now and it was not possible that she had seen him.

With that concern too little, he concentrated on watching the rest of the group. Since the first time he had seen them, he felt like they had already met. Especially the two younger men. A very remote memory in his mind seemed to try coming back, but it was impossible. Shun Li herself had already said so.

Shun Li...

Thinking about the girl's name made his heart beat faster again and Valmont focused on her. From what he had seen at school, she was not the sort of person who used to obey the rules. In truth, she was exactly the type of person he liked: courageous, clever, good at martial arts and... well... rather cute.

He felt his face burning and wondered if he was blushing. At that thought, he clenched his fists angrily. Why did he feel like that when he thought about her? He had always been cold and immune to warm feelings. This felt so embarrassing...

And yet, he could not stop looking at her. Her smile and her determined eyes made all his discomfort go away and he sort of felt... happy.

_As if that was possible_, Valmont thought to himself, sighing. How could he be happy after what happened? No, happiness was not part of his life. It would probably never be.

"Hey, V! I didn't notice you were there!" a loud and quite familiar voice said, which hit him like a blow to the head and brought him back to reality. Valmont even paled for a moment when he saw that everyone in the living room was looking at him, including his mother's sinister look. However, he swallowed hard and quickly regained his cold composure.

"I just came from my room," he said the first thing he thought of.

"Oh, right," Shun Li answered, apparently believing him. Catherine, on the other hand, smirked at him maliciously. Now he was almost sure she had indeed seen him, but he was not worried about that anymore. "Were you studying?"

"Yes."

"Oh, great, I really wanted to ask you some things about the exam." She stood up and walked to him. "Can you help me?"

Valmont shot one more suspicious glance at everyone in the living room, frowning when his mother seemed to be amused with the situation.

"All right," he replied and went upstairs, followed by Shun Li.

------

When the two youngsters left, Uncle turned to look at the blonde woman on the other sofa. Jackie and Tohru could see that Uncle looked more aggressive and feared he would ruin everything.

"Have you always lived here?" the old man suddenly asked.

"Yes," she answered simply.

"Have you ever noticed something strange here? Something unusual, something supernatural that you couldn't explain?"

Tohru choked and Jackie almost spat the tea he had just drunk back to the cup. His uncle would indeed ruin everything if he asked such direct questions. What was he thinking?

"Uh... Uncle, please..." he whispered to his uncle and turned to Catherine. "What he meant is..."

"Animals acting strange or spirits?" Uncle interrupted, ignoring his nephew. The archaeologist covered his face with one hand, groaning in frustration.

"I've never seen anything strange here. And there's no such things as ghosts," Catherine answered and Uncle stood up, narrowing his eyes.

"Then you will not mind if we take a look."

Jackie widened his eyes and stared at him. "Uncle, don't...!" he tried, but Uncle was already on his way to the hall, gesturing at Tohru to follow him. Jackie sighed and hoped that Valmont's mother would not get suspicious and that everything would go well. However, judging by her calm expression, Jackie was almost sure that no good could come of this.

Well, the only thing he could do now was go ahead with his part of the plan and distract her.

"So..." he started, pausing to think of something to say. "Nice house."

------

Jade glanced around in the corridor while she and Valmont headed to his room and she had that weird feeling again, the feeling that they were being watched. The second floor had a very sinister atmosphere. She did not understand how Valmont could live here.

But she had to focus on her purpose. They had already wasted too much time and she was not a patient person. She had better get straight to the point.

"V."

"Yes?"

"There's something I want to ask you."

"What is it?"

"Could you lend me the key?"

Valmont stopped and stared at her seriously. "Is that why you're here?"

"No! I just remembered it, that's all!" Jade defended herself, guessing that Valmont did not like the idea at all. Well, she had expected that.

"Why do you want that key so badly? It just brings problems."

"That's..." Jade hesitated. Perhaps it would be easier if he understood the seriousness of the situation, but then she would have to tell him the truth. That was too dangerous, though. She did not know how he would react and the consequences that would have to the future. He had already caused too much trouble by making Valmont and Sara argue.

------

Shun Li had always been a mysterious person. Unlike his friends, she had accepted very fast the fact that ninjas often attacked him; she believed in magic and was always asking about the key.

He was taught not to trust anyone, though. And if he did not trust even his own mother, how could he trust a stranger like Shun Li?

Then again, perhaps she just wanted to help. Perhaps she was related to that strange man who had given him the key years ago.

He faced the girl before him. She seemed to be about to say something, but hesitated. If she were any other person, he would just sharply deny the favour, but Shun Li... He could not do that. He wanted to, but he could not. Only her intense look was enough to make part of his mind want to believe that she was not his enemy and could be trusted.

But that feeling was soon suppressed. He would never trust anyone.

"All right. It's in my room," he said, going past her and walking to the door of his room. He still did not trust her, but he would risk it.

------

Tohru and Uncle walked silently along the dark corridors of the first floor and looked around very cautiously, but did not see anything strange.

"I do not think there is anything here, sensei," Tohru whispered in an almost inaudible tone. The old man nodded and gestured at him to go back to the hall. They two heard a quiet conversation between Jackie and Catherine and Uncle glanced around to decide where they would go next. The most obvious place was the second floor, so he went upstairs followed by Tohru.

As soon as they went on, they realised they were in the right way. The second floor indeed had something strange. None of them could tell why, but they knew that would be evident very soon.

They heard the voices of Jade and Valmont and then a door was closed. After making sure that the duo would stay in the room with the door closed, Uncle and Tohru kept walking.

When he went past the door, Uncle could not help but frown in annoyance. Theoretically, Jade was getting close to Valmont just to get the key, but he could not stop thinking that she might be going a bit too far with this. She had not just got a present for dating the future criminal, but locked herself up with him in his room as well? That thought really disturbed him a lot.

"Sensei, it is too dark here to see a black cat," Tohru pointed out.

"Do not worry, Tohru. If what Jade said is true, we probably will not need to _see_ the cat to know where it is."

"Sensei, do you really think-"

"Shh!" Uncle silenced him, stretching an arm to stop him. Tohru glanced at him and tried to see what his master was staring at. Now they were apparently almost in the end of the corridor, but there was a very weak light coming from a door at the right side. The door was half open and the old Chan opened it a bit more to peer inside. Tohru went after him and also took a look at the room.

By the looks of it, nobody had entered that room for years. The place was all dusty, most of furniture was broken, the walls were stained and one of the windows was broken. Blue curtains covered the windows almost entirely, which created a bluish half-light in practically the whole room. In one of its side was a very old and scratched piano. Next to it, there was a closed door.

"Odd... What do you think that happened here, sensei?" Tohru inquired. Uncle opened the door even more so that they could enter and narrowed his eyes.

"I don't know, but it was nothing good. The atmosphere of this room is very heavy."

Tohru carefully watched each detail of the room. It was very large and spacious. Now he also noted a bookcase with old books on the other side of the room and several paintings, photos, vases and statues on the floor or about do drop from where they were. Uncle inspected some objects and the Japanese man began to pay attention to the stains on the wall. He approached to see what they were and widened his eyes as he identified the substance.

"Sensei! Sensei! Come here, please!" he called as quietly as possible. Uncle immediately dropped a book and ran to his apprentice's side.

"What is it?"

"Look, it's blood," Tohru said, pointing at the stains. Uncle slightly widened his eyes and adjusted the position of his glasses, stepping closer to examine the wall.

"Hmm..."

"What do you think, sensei?"

Uncle took a quick glance around and was interested in the door next to the piano. He walked to it and tried to open it, but it was locked.

"Should we try to force it open?" Tohru asked and Uncle shivered, making the Japanese man worry. "What's wrong, sensei?"

"Uncle has the willies," the old man said gloomily. Tohru also began to feel strange and a strong sort of energy took up the room. Tohru thought he had heard a hiss and two voices whispering something very quietly, but he was not sure if it was just his imagination. He closed his eyes tightly and covered his ears to make it stop, but then he felt deathly cold and could no longer move or breathe. It was as if he had died. He tried to scream, but no sound came from his mouth. By now, he could not feel or hear anything else. Only the hiss and those voices. Was he dead?

He heard a scream, and then another from other person. Then several voices began to speak at the same time, but Tohru could not understand what they were saying. He also heard a baby crying and another painful scream.

"Stop!" Tohru thought, panicking. He could no longer stand it. "Stop!"

Suddenly, a meow was heard and all the voices and the hiss ceased. He was back to the room with his master and could move and breathe normally again, and all of his senses were back. He glanced at Uncle in confusion, wondering if he had gone through the same thing. Surprisingly, Uncle was staring at something on the other side of the room. Tohru turned around and saw a black cat with golden and demonic eyes, staring at them dangerously.

**To be continued...**


	10. A Guardian's Weakness

– **CHAPTER 10 –**

_**A Guardian's Weakness**_

For what felt like an eternity, Tohru could do nothing but stare at the strange, demonic creature before him. Its eyes weren't even glowing, and yet they made him look much more threatening and evil than any demon Tohru had ever faced. Jade had been right, after all; this was no ordinary cat. Apparently, they were closer to finding Apocalypsium's releaser than they had previously thought.

"Sensei!" he said urgently, shifting his gaze to his master, not daring to move any other part of his body. However, Uncle was already on guard and aiming his magical lizard at the cat.

"I know, Tohru, I know! It's a demon! Get your blowfish ready. We're going to fight it now!" he said firmly, his whole demeanour very calm.

The moment Tohru reached into his pocket, the cat hissed and leapt towards him. Tohru barely had time to dodge its sharp claws, while Uncle shot magic beams at it and missed.

"Careful, Tohru!" advised Uncle, his tone unwavering. "We don't know if its claws or teeth have poison. It could be like a werewolf and turn you into of its kind."

"Yes, Sensei," said Tohru, having just got his blowfish. The cat leapt at him again, but this time he had been ready, so he managed to avoid it quite easily and then counterattack. Unfortunately, the feline demon was very agile and was able to evade each blow from both men.

"Tohru!" said Uncle, slightly breathless from the exertion. "We have to corner it, so that it can't escape anymore!"

Tohru nodded in understanding, and they positioned themselves so that their attacks forced the cat to withdraw into a corner of the room. For a moment, Tohru thought they had finally got it, but then, the cat seemed to suddenly vanish. Before either man even realised what had happened, a dark figure zoomed past them and then through the door. It took them a second to register that their foe had just fled the battle.

"Quickly! After it!" shouted Uncle, scowling deeply as he hurried out of the room, followed closely by his apprentice.

They ran almost blindly in the darkness of the corridor, straining to see any sign of the mysterious black cat. All doors were closed, so it was unlikely it had gone to hide in one of the other rooms. If it had gone downstairs, however, it probably had already left the house.

"I think we have lost it, Sensei," said Tohru gravely as they searched the hall from the top of the staircase.

"Lost what?" asked the chilling voice of Catherine. She was halfway upstairs, Jackie by her side with an anxious expression.

"Um..." Tohru glanced at Uncle, not sure if he should reveal what had just occurred.

"Ours minds, of course!" Uncle blurted out, throwing his hands up exaggeratedly and startling Tohru. "We must be crazy to think that this house is haunted!"

"What is that in your hand?" she asked, eyeing the dead lizard.

"Good luck charm."

She arched an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"Is everything all right, Uncle?" asked Jackie. "We heard bangs on the ceiling..."

"Tohru just tripped," said Uncle briskly, earning himself another raised eyebrow, this one from his nephew. "Now, if you excuse us, Uncle has to get out for some fresh air. Come with me, Tohru. Jackie, you stay here and talk to the nice lady until we come back," said Uncle as he went past them, followed by his puzzled apprentice and ignoring the very odd look Jackie was giving him.

"Umm, okay, Uncle..." said Jackie, looking inquisitively at Tohru, who merely shrugged.

Once they were out and had reached the front gate, Tohru dared ask, "Uncle, do you think it is wise to leave Jackie and Jade alone with Valmont's mother? For all we know, she could be the one behind the ninja attacks and the release of Apocalypsium."

"You're right," said Uncle after some quick deliberation. "You go back in there and help Jackie and Jade in case something happens, while I go after that cat demon."

"But, Sensei, it could be anywhere in the city by now!"

"Yes, but if that house really is under a spell to disguise dark chi, then that cat can no longer hide from my locator spell."

Tohru sighed. He still didn't think this was a good idea, but he knew better than to try arguing with his master once he set his mind on something.

oOo

Valmont took his time to retrieve the box in which he kept the key, avoiding looking at the young woman who stood in the middle of his room, arms folded, patiently waiting. Once he had got the box, he slowly opened it and held the key between his fingers carefully, as though it were a fragile object. Although he had never understood why he had been given it, he had been quite glad for it. After he'd found out it was made of pure gold and contained authentic precious jewels, he'd immediately thought of selling it. For some reason, however, he never did. In time, he found himself growing protective of it. There was something in it – its beauty, its magic – that fascinated and attracted him, made him feel he was the only one worth to keep it. He couldn't let just anyone have it.

However, as of late, it had started to lose its beauty as well as its magic, and he couldn't help but think it was somehow his fault.

Shun Li eyed the key with an eager expression, her hand slowly reaching out. Valmont began to stretch out his own arm, but then hesitated, letting his loosely closed fist hover over her hand, the key just a few centimetres from her palm.

"V..." she said softly as she noticed his reluctance. He looked up to meet her gaze. "What's wrong?"

"This is," he said flatly, withdrawing his hand and closing his fist around it protectively. "On second thoughts, I think I would rather keep it."

"Don't you trust me?" she asked, faking a hurt tone.

"Of course not," he scoffed. "I trust no one."

"Come on!" she drawled anxiously. "Do you really think I'd do anything to harm you?"

He frowned and looked her straight in the eyes. "Why do you want this key so badly?"

"The question is, why are _you_ so reluctant to get rid of it?" she snapped, her patience running thin.

He frowned. He couldn't answer that question truthfully, for he, himself, didn't know. He just had the overwhelming feeling that giving it to this young woman was a terrible mistake.

"You don't want it. It brings nothing but trouble. It's like a curse," he said.

"And so you're going to nobly sacrifice yourself for my welfare? Yeah, right," she said sarcastically, placing her hands on her hips. He frowned at her tone, feeling even more defensive. "Puh-lease. The fact it's like a curse's all the more reason to give it away!"

He gritted his teeth and hissed, "I _can't_!"

"Can't, or won't?"

"Both."

For a moment, she looked like she was going to try and take the key by force. They glared at each other for a while longer, until she seemed to realise that this was neither the place nor the time for a kung fu match over an object that was supposed to be kept a secret.

"Fine," she huffed. "You can keep your precious key... for now." She stomped over to the door and opened it with a little more force than necessary. She turned to glare at him one more time and hissed, "This is not over yet!" With that, she left, closing the door with a resonating bang.

oOo

Approximately five seconds after leaving Valmont's room, Jade groaned and felt like pounding her head against the wall. Maybe she shouldn't have lost her temper like that and said those things to Valmont. That last part, then, almost sounded like a threat! Even if he was acting like a paranoid jerk, she should have been a little more subtle. So much for gaining his trust, she thought sarcastically.

Still, he could have been a little more helpful. It wasn't as if she had asked him to give up his soul to her or something like that.

She scowled as she made her way to the lounge. The greedy idiot probably wanted to keep the key just so that he could sell it in the near future. It was a very valuable object, after all.

Jade halted in her steps and thought it over. _Greedy idiot... sell it... very valuable..._ She slapped her forehead as realisation dawned on her. "Of course!" she muttered to herself. Valmont was one of the greediest men she knew of. He'd probably do pretty much anything for money. He had even gone as far as agreeing to work for a talking statue for it.

Putting on a friendly smile, she turned on her heels to head back to Valmont's room.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed as she nearly bumped into someone. Valmont. She hadn't realised he had come after her. He opened his mouth to say something, but she beat him to it. "Hey, V! I was just going back to talk to you," she said, smiling innocently again. "Look, I'm sorry about what I said back there. I don't know what got into me," she said conversationally.

"It's all right, I –"

"Listen!" she cut him off. "I have an offer I think you'll want to consider. I'll _pay_ for the key. What do you say?"

He stared at her, scepticism flashing in his eyes. "No offence, but you don't seem that rich," he said dryly.

"Hey!" she protested, feeling slightly insulted. "Just because I'm not a stuck-up snob doesn't mean I'm poor!"

"Have you the faintest idea how much this key would cost? It's made of gold, diamonds, and rubies!"

"I can afford it!" she insisted, even though a small, sensible part of her mind was telling her she was digging her own grave. He actually seemed to consider it, so she pressed on, "If I get you the money, will you give me the key?"

He looked at her calculatingly for a while. "Maybe," he said slowly. "But I'll only seriously consider it after I see the money. And it has got to be in cash, understand?"

She smiled sweetly at him and said, "Sure thing, V!"

oOo

A few hours later, Jade found herself back to Shun Li's apartment, only half-heartedly paying attention to Jackie and Tohru's conversation. When Jackie asked him where Uncle was, Tohru began telling them about the strange room they had found and the demonic black cat that they had fought and that Uncle was probably still pursuing. Honestly, Jade wasn't surprised to hear that in the least; Tohru was just confirming what she had suspected all along, and she couldn't help but say, "Told you so!" Still, that destroyed room sounded very intriguing – and more than a little disturbing.

"Do you think Catherine set Apocalypsium free?" Jackie asked Tohru.

"Hello!" said Jade sarcastically before Tohru could answer. "A mentally unstable woman, demonic cats, mysterious hissing, blood on the walls, evil chi all over..." she said, enumerated on her fingers. "Ring any bells yet?"

"Jade, this is very serious," said Jackie sternly. "We can't go jumping into conclusions. We have to _kill_ Apocalypsium's releaser, which is bad enough in itself, so we have to make absolutely sure she is the one we look for."

"But it's so obvious that it's her, Jackie!" she protested. "Why else would she have a cat demon, perform weird rituals, have a bloody room with evil chi...?"

"It could be for many reasons, Jade," he said, though he didn't seem very convinced of it himself. "Maybe she belongs to a cult that involves rituals. And maybe she has no idea her cat is actually a demon."

"The hissing and the evil chi could mean the house is haunted," said Tohru. "If someone was murdered in that room... that would explain it. But that does not necessarily mean Catherine has anything to do with Apocalypsium."

Jade rolled her eyes. "C'mon, you don't really believe that, do you?"

Both men shifted nervously.

"She did mention a trip to China a few years ago," said Jackie after a while.

Jade hummed, tapping her chin musingly. "Maybe that's how she got the urn."

"If so, she has probably hidden it well," said Tohru.

"Yeah, but... maybe Valmont has seen it. I'll talk to him tomorrow," said Jade. Speaking of Valmont reminded her of their deal, which made her sober. Where on Earth was she going to get that much money on such short notice? They barely had any left for themselves now, and they couldn't just empty their past selves' bank account. Or could they? Nevertheless, she wasn't sure if even that would be enough.

Where on Earth – or rather, in London – could she find enough money, then?

As soon as she thought of it, the answer seemed obvious. If she couldn't get their own money in San Francisco, maybe she could "borrow" some from someone who _had_ enough here in London.

For a wild moment, she was excited at the idea, proud of her genius. She would get to wear that black, tight outfit she had seen on Viper so often and be a super thief!

Then, she shook herself out of her daydream and sighed, the small, rational part of her mind protesting that this was a ridiculous idea. Stealing is wrong, it said, sounding disturbingly like Jackie. Damn him; it seemed he had managed to rub off on her a little, after all.

_So what if it's wrong?_ argued the other, thrill-seeking part of her mind. _It never stopped you before!_

"Jade? Are you all right?" asked Tohru, startling her out of her conflicting thoughts.

"Uh, yeah," she said a little dazedly, then slowly stood up from the couch. "I guess I'm kinda tired. I'm going to bed now."

After exchanging good night wishes, she went to her room and sat heavily on the bed. Left to her thoughts once again, she resumed her little inner war. Ugh, she had barely been able to look at Jackie and Tohru without feeling a twinge of guilt. Becoming a super thief and robbing a bank just for fun... What had she been thinking?

Then again, it wasn't just for fun. She had a mission, a purpose. She swore she would do anything in her power to succeed. What was more important, being a good girl or saving the world? If she had to break a few rules, then so be it. It would, after all, be a much greater crime to doom humanity.

That was it, then. She would call Sara to help her, and maybe they could do it tonight. Jade nodded to herself in resolution, ignoring that insistent little Jackie-like voice that told her she was acting out of impulse and not thinking this through.

She was about to stand up and prepare for bed when she caught a flash of light from the corner of her eye. She turned to see what it was and noted it had been the light reflected from the beautiful diamond ring that Valmont's mother had given her. She frowned slightly as a sudden, new idea occurred to her. She sat back down on the bed and carefully held the ring between her fingers, examining it calculatingly. This ring must have cost a fortune. It might be nothing for someone like Catherine, but Jade would probably have had to work for centuries – or win the lottery – to afford it.

"Hmm. I wonder..."

oOo

The next day, she approached Valmont during lunch break. He seemed to have reverted back to his standoffish demeanour – worse even, he was glaring at everybody all around, as if they had all turned against him. Ignoring the particularly vicious glare she got herself, Jade smiled at him and took a seat across from him.

"Hey, V. You don't look so good," she commented as she eyed the slightly dark rings under his eyes. "Been fighting many ninjas lately?"

"What do you think?" he gritted. "I've been studying!" He leant forward, narrowing his eyes, and whispered harshly, "And I would thank you, as well Sara and Mit, if you would refrain from talking about _those things_ in public!"

"Those things? You mean the dark ninjas?" she asked a little louder than would have been necessary, her face innocently blank. He flinched.

"Shut up!" he hissed, making her chuckle.

"Sorry. You just look so funny when you're uncomfortable and annoyed." Kind of cute, too, she silently added. "Speaking of the other guys, where are they?"

He didn't answer, having returned his full attention to his lunch. She did notice his scowl had deepened at the mention of his friends, though.

"I mean," she continued slowly, carefully. "I know you and Sara are not on speaking terms right now... or are you?" Again, no reply. "But what about Mit and Rit?"

He kept silent, but raised his gaze to look at some point over Jade's shoulder. She glanced behind her and saw their three friends at a table quite distant from their own. Mitchel was talking to a mildly annoyed Sara, while Ritchie watched them, half-exasperated, half-amused.

"Why aren't you with them?" she asked.

"I want to be _alone_," he said pointedly.

"I can see Mit is trying to hit on Sara, but what's Rit doing there?" she wondered out loud, pretending not to hear Valmont. "Can't he get a hint?"

"Apparently, he's not the only one," muttered Valmont.

"He should be here, talking to his other friends," she grumbled, turning back to Valmont. "Did you have to choose a table so far from them, anyway?"

"Listen," he said grimly, "just because I hang out with them doesn't mean I'm their friend."

"What are you talking about?" she laughed. "You guys always seemed to get along so well!"

"Did we?"

"Uh..." Now that she though about it, Valmont had always been very quiet and aloof, even in the company of his alleged friends. "Yeah, well... they help you fight the ninjas, don't they?"

"Will you shut up about the cursed ninjas already?!" he hissed, clenching his fists. Then, more calmly, in soft, if tense, tones, he said, "Sara is an old childhood friend, and she likes to fight. She finds it 'adventurous and exciting,'" he sneered at the words. "And so does Mit; he was a family friend, but ever since he found out about this curse, he wouldn't stop trying to get closer to us. As for Rit, he's obsessed with horror stories and mysteries, so he sees this curse as a story for him to live, a mystery for him to solve. Not that he's had much luck with that."

Jade grimaced slightly. "Is that the whole true, or are you just mad at them for some reason and trying to make them out to be the bad guys? Or are you really that cynical and never really considered them as friends in the first place, even if they _were_ trying to be just that? Gee, I can only imagine what you think of me."

Leaning on the table, his cheek resting upon his hand, he picked at his food in apparent indifference, but she could see the tightness of his jaw and the dark look in his eyes. She leant over and rested her chin on her crossed arms, blinking at him speculatively. Well, whether he had real friends or not, he probably believed he didn't. Granted, she hadn't known them for that long, but they seemed nice enough. Why couldn't Valmont just give them a chance? Act like a normal teenager?

Probably because he wasn't a normal teenager. Actually, from what she knew about him, in past, present, and future, "normal" had never been part of his vocabulary. Born to a filthy rich family in England, raised by a mentally unstable mother in a haunted house, he had for some reason been sent to China to learn martial arts when he was still a child, and then been given a magical key he had to protect, though he had no idea why, and had to fight dark ninjas every night. Not to mention he would become an internationally wanted criminal mastermind in the future. And always alone... Well, not exactly alone, but if he refused to see that, he might as well be.

"It must be lonely," she said out loud, softly. Valmont started and looked at her inquisitively. "You pushing people away... refusing to trust anyone... It must be really lonely. And kinda dull sometimes, especially when you're not fighting, which is most part of the day. As I said, really lonely." She raised her gaze to the ceiling thoughtfully. "And really dull."

He snorted, smirking as he looked down at his plate. "Unlike you, I don't need friends. I don't need anyone, really. I can use people to help me reach my goals, but that's about it. And stop giving me that mock pitying look!" he snapped. Jade looked away, trying to look busy by watching the students around them. "This is my choice. I _like_ being this way."

"I know," she said, shrugging slightly. "But it doesn't have to be like that."

"Yes, it does," he whispers, his gaze far away as his hand touched the spot next to his heart, where his shirt pocket was located.

"You brought the key?" Jade asked.

"Of course," he said snappishly, albeit he still looked a little distracted.

She smirked, threw another quick glance at their three friends, and tapped her hand against the table to catch his attention. "You know, there's only one way to know for sure if they're truly your friends," she said, nodding vaguely in their direction. Valmont glanced at them, then looked at Jade blankly. "If you're no longer being stalked by dark ninjas –" she grinned as he sneered "– and they still act like your friends, that's probably because they're honest about it!"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. People could still want to associate with me because I'm rich," he smirked at her smugly. She stuck out her tongue at him.

"_Anyway_," she continued, "I think you should have fun at least for one day –"

"Fortunately, we have very different concepts of 'fun', my dear Shun Li."

Jade paused, momentarily caught by surprise. It felt odd to be called that by Valmont. For some reason, it both pleased and disturbed her greatly. She shook her head and took a moment to remember what they had been talking about.

"Uh, yeah, and that's exactly why I think I should show you how fun _my_ kind of 'fun' is."

Valmont, who had been taking a sip of his drink, choked and coughed slightly, but recomposed himself quickly enough. He wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Indeed?" he said smoothly, arching an eyebrow. "Exactly what kind of activities do you have in mind?" he said suggestively.

She laughed. "Nothing perverted, if that's what you're thinking!" Valmont looked away briefly, his face slightly flushed.

"No, of course not," he said.

She smiled at him and leant forward to whisper, "Meet me after school." With that, she stood up and walked away, just as the bell rang to announce the end of the lunch break.

oOo

Valmont stood at the school gate, trying to hide his anxiety as he watched his surroundings, waiting for a certain Chinese girl to come and meet him. He could feel his heart beat a little more quickly, much to his dismay. There was no need to be nervous, he told himself. This wasn't a date; they were going to discuss business. At least, that was what he had assumed.

Then again, she had never explicitly said anything about business. She hadn't been carrying anything but her school bag, and he hardly thought she could fit much money in there, especially if she had also brought her books. What was she up to, then?

_As if I even have to wonder_, he thought, mentally rolling his eyes. It was obvious from the beginning that she didn't have the money. She had probably arranged this "date" so as to distract him and steal the key. Unfortunately for her, he wasn't that naïve; he would play along, but keep his eyes open, just in case.

Then, he saw her, and his breath caught. Shun Li strode through the crowd with determined steps, a small, joyful smile on her lips, her face a mask of absolute self-confidence. Valmont drank in the sight of her, letting his eyes travel from her hair whipping around to her bright eyes, then down her chest, to her smooth-looking legs, back up again to her radiant face. He swallowed convulsively and loosened his tie just a little bit.

"Hey, V!" she said cheerfully, stopping next to him.

He started. "Oh! Ah... er, h-hello." He grimaced inwardly, chagrined. What was wrong with him? Squeaking and stuttering like a fool... He cleared his throat and tried to emend, but all intelligent thoughts seemed to have evacuated his mind all of a sudden.

Shun Li saved him the trouble by patting his back and saying, "Well, let's go, then?"

As she took the lead, Valmont took a deep breath and followed her, all the while telling himself to stop embarrassing himself, stop ogling Shun Li, and act like an intelligent human being.

"Are you mad?" she asked suddenly.

"What?" he said somewhat edgily.

"You look angry."

"I'm not angry!" he hissed.

"You sure? Is something wrong?"

"No!"

She gave him an odd look, probably wondering about his mood swings. One minute he was nervous and awestricken, the next he was cold and snappish... He sighed, annoyed with himself and the world.

"I'm sorry," he said to her.

Shun Li merely smiled, though she did look a little confused, and said, "It's okay."

They went to a café, where Shun Li and Valmont ordered hot chocolate and coffee, respectively. They spend the first five minutes in silence, during which Valmont watched her warily, waiting for her to say what she wanted from him. Shun Li, however, wasn't even looking at him, but at her surroundings, rather distractedly and curiously, as if she had just arrived in the city for the first time.

Suddenly, she turned to him and said, "Do you have the key?"

"You know I have," he said, frowning.

There was a pause.

"Well?" she prompted. "What are you waiting for? Show me!"

He scowled, but did take the key out of his pocket. Shun Li's eyes shone with an unidentified emotion as she gazed at it.

"Where's the money?" he asked testily. She blinked and looked away.

"Um, yeah, about that..."

He fixed her with a longsuffering look, having already known something like this would happen.

"I couldn't get the money... in cash," she admitted.

"Well, that settles it, then. If you'll excuse me, I have better things to do with my precious time," he said coldly, beginning to stand up.

"Wait! You didn't even let me finish!" she protested and opened her school bag. "I have something else... I have this!" she said, producing a ring.

Valmont did a double take and found he couldn't tear his eyes away from the ring, especially the diamond in it. Without realising what he was doing, he slowly returned to his seat.

"I knew you'd like it," said Shun Li smugly. Valmont looked up at her, so astounded he didn't even manage to glare at her. "Will it suffice?"

The key pulsated in his fist with a wave of power, as if protesting at the idea of being given away. It was weak, though, and the twinkle of diamond had already captured Valmont's exclusive attention. It seemed to have a call of its own, and Valmont just couldn't resist it – he didn't want to. This ring must cost thousands; to have all this money for himself, without having to rely on his mother... He just had to possess this ring!

Plus, he would finally get rid of the key. Why should he care about it, in any case? If he sold the key to Shun Li, he would never again have to stay up until late in the night and fight a little army of dark ninjas. He might have something akin to normal life again!

Still, he couldn't just accept it right away, or so the analytical, suspicious part of his mind told him.

"Where did you get this?" he asked slowly, his eyes still on the ring.

"I didn't steal it," said Shun Li defensively. "It's mine; it was a present."

"How do I know this is a real diamond?"

"Ah, V!" Her palm went to her forehead in a show of frustration. "Can't you tell? I bet you see diamonds on a regular basis. I thought you'd be able to know the difference between a real diamond and a fake one."

"There are some very good imitations out there."

"Fine!" she said, clearly annoyed. "Let's just go to a jewellery store and ask them to take a look at it."

"I don't think some gemmologist's thirty-second appraisal would be much better than mine," he muttered.

"Can't you just trust me?" she pleaded.

"It's not a matter of trust, Shun Li. If you or whoever gave it to you never tested it, it could be a fake and you would have been completely unaware of it all this time."

Her face fell. "Oh..." She frowned and bit her lip. "I didn't think of that."

They quickly finished their drinks and headed to the nearest jewellery shop, neither wanting to waste any time. The shop's in-house gemmologist briefly took a peek at it and told them it was a real diamond. While Valmont knew these free evaluations weren't a hundred percent reliable, he was pretty sure it was indeed a real diamond himself, so he didn't dwell on the subject any longer.

"There. Are you happy now?" she asked impatiently.

He didn't dignify that with an answer, but merely took the offered ring from her hand and examined it again. Beautiful... it was beautiful... and valuable – and it was all his!

"Hey, what about the key?" she whined, and Valmont handed it to her without so much as a glance in her direction, his eyes practically glued to the shining beauty in his other hand. He barely noticed it when Shun Li giggled and thanked him.

After a while, he emerged out of his dreamy stupor and reluctantly put it away in the same pocket he had kept the key. He felt strangely pleased to know the key was no longer his responsibility. He had never felt this free!

Oblivious to Valmont's elation, Shun Li put away the key in her left jacket pocket and started looking about in curiosity again. "You know, V, I've been in London all this time and yet I haven't had time to actually _see_ the city."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Do tell."

"Yeah, all I do is study. And seeing tourist attractions alone just isn't that much fun. If only someone would come with me..." She eyed him up and down suggestively, which made Valmont's heart flutter. This time, however, he wasn't angry – quite the opposite – and he managed to keep his composure.

"If you wish, I could show you the city."

"Cool! Where are we going first?"

oOo

"You know, of all the museums in London, the British Museum is probably my favourite one. There are just so many interesting artefacts to see. Oh, look, this is the Egyptian mummies section! See, they used to mummify animals associated with deities as well. Here, take a look at this one; it's the mummy of a cat. The cat is associated with the goddess Bastet. There are also many statues..."

Shun Li yawned.

"How long until this little expedition is over?" she asked lazily.

"Ah, yes, the British Museum is quite extensive, isn't it? If you're tired..."

"No, it's just... Can't we go somewhere else? Somewhere not so big and mind-numbingly boring?"

Valmont blinked, raising his eyebrows in confusion. She thought the museum was boring? He just loved all those artefacts! In fact, one of his old dreams was to turn one of the rooms of his home into a mini museum of his own someday.

"I, ah, I suppose we could go to the London Tower..."

"Nah, they're just going to give us more History lectures. Isn't there any exciting place to go? Aren't there any theme parks or something?"

He frowned. "I beg your pardon?"

"An amusements park? You know, with a roller coaster and stuff like that? Oh, I know! Why don't we go take a ride in the London Eye! It's supposed to be like a Ferris wheel, right?"

If Shun Li had spoken in Greek, it would have probably had the same affect on Valmont.

"London Eye?" he asked slowly, not sure he had got it right.

"Oh, wait," said Shun Li, her eyes widening. "I guess that hasn't been built it yet. Never mind, then." When Valmont continued to stare at her blankly, she sighed and said, "All right, let's go to the London Tower."

oOo

"You know, V," said Shun Li before taking a bite of her hamburger. She chewed a little before continuing, her voice slightly muffled, "England isn't that bad. We should go see the Stonehenge one of these days."

"I'm glad your opinion of the UK went from 'mind-numbingly boring' to 'not that bad,'" said Valmont dryly.

She snorted. "Oh, come now, don't tell me you loved San Francisco when you first got there!"

"I don't remember having told you about my going to San Francisco," he said, frowning.

"Oh, uh..." She glanced away. "Sara mentioned something about it. You were an exchange student, right?"

"Yes," he said tersely. "I'd rather not talk about it, though."

Shun Li had a rather odd expression on her face, as though she was struggling to hold back a smile. "Bad experience, huh?"

"What exactly did Sara tell you?" he asked tensely, his eyes narrowing.

She shrugged. "Not much, really. Only that you were an exchange student."

He scrutinised her, suddenly finding her slightly familiar. He wasn't sure why he thought that all of a sudden, but it seemed the mention of his time in San Francisco had triggered it. Had he met her at the school there?

"Have you ever been to San Francisco?" he asked neutrally, though he kept a careful eye out for her reaction.

"No," she said in a casual enough tone, but he had seen her slight flinch when he had asked her the question. "Anyway, you've also been to China, haven't you?" she said quickly.

"Yes."

"How did you like it?"

"It was... interesting, but I'm glad I didn't have to stay there any longer."

"Did you go with your mom?"

"No, I went with Mit."

Shun Li, who had just finished up her hamburger, frowned as she chewed slowly, a thoughtful look on her face. She crumpled the napkin she had been using into a ball and tossed it into a dustbin.

"So... your mom's never been to China?"

"Why are you asking me all this?"

"Just curious."

He looked away momentarily and sighed. It wouldn't hurt to tell her at least part of the truth.

"She has, actually."

He expected her to ask for more details, which, as far as he was concerned, she didn't have to know. However, Shun Li surprised him when, instead of asking the exact location his mother had visited, or the exact time, or if anything unusual had happened, she merely asked, "Did she bring a lot souvenirs?"

Slightly taken aback by such an irrelevant question, he hesitated and said, "Yes."

"What kind of stuff did she get?" Before he could answer, she added, "Did she get something that looked like an urn?"

His frown deepened as he tried to remember. "I'm... not sure. She brought so many antiquities... But it's quite possible." Even as he spoke, the wheels in his brain started turning and putting the pieces together. It was precisely after the incident in China that his mother had gone through such a dramatic change, and now Shun Li was asking about his mother's trip to China and specifically about some antiquity she had possibly acquired there. It couldn't be just coincidence.

"V? Are you all right?" asked Shun Li softly, concern in her voice.

"You know something, don't you?" he asked, his mind spinning. He took a breath to calm down and met Shun Li's gaze. "What is that urn you mentioned? Why would you think my mother has got it?"

She opened her mouth, hesitated for a second, and said, "Chinese superstition."

"I don't believe that," he said stiffly. He breathed heavily. "That urn... you believe my mother has got it, and that's why she behaves so... strangely." He held her by the arms. "If you know something, you have to tell me!" he said in a desperate tone, shaking her slightly.

"V!" she gasped, alarmed. "V, relax! Look, I don't know what's wrong with your mom!" She looked away with a pained expression, as if she wanted to tell him a great secret, but was simply incapable to do so. "I just... it's just... it's difficult to explain." She let out a tired sigh. "Can't you forget I even brought it up?"

Valmont could only stare at her. How could he ever forget something like that?

"You!" shouted a shrill voice, and they both instinctively turned to see who it was. They hadn't actually thought they were being addressed, though, so they were quite surprised to see a short, Chinese young man glaring directly at them – more specifically at Shun Li. "You get away from him!" she demanded, with a thick accent.

"Whoa! Take a chill pill, will you?" said Shun Li, holding her hands up in a defensive gesture. "I think you're confusing me with someone else," she said warily.

The stranger shook her head, her lips curling disdainfully. "Oh, no, I am very aware of who you are! I have been watching you for a while!"

Shun Li blinked and raised her eyebrows in mock surprise. "I feel stalked now. Seriously, though, I don't know what I could have done to make you so mad at me. I don't even know who –" she broke off suddenly as recognition leapt into her eyes; her expression turned from mildly confused to alarmed and perhaps even a little fearful.

"Shun Li," Valmont whispered to his companion, "do you know her?"

She swallowed, never taking her eyes off the other girl. "Maybe. I think you should go now, V."

He glanced at the mysterious Chinese girl and gave Shun Li a suspicious look. What was going on, he wondered? In any case, he didn't want to leave, not when he had just found out Shun Li most likely know something about his mother's condition.

However, when Shun Li looked at him, her eyes pleading, he understood this must be serious. It was none of his business, and he certainly wasn't going to get himself involved with others' personal problems. With a sigh, he stepped back.

"Fine. See you at school."

oOo

Jade didn't even spare Valmont a glance when he finally left her alone with this Chinese girl. She knew who this person was; she hadn't recognised her right away, though she had looked vaguely familiar. Then, she remembered; she had seen her picture in her school file. This person, who looked so much like Jade herself, was none other than the real Leng Shun Li.

Damn. Jackie had warned her that the real Shun Li might show up eventually, but Jade hadn't worried much about that. She had of course known that this was going to happen sooner or later. Fortunately, half the task – i.e. getting the key – had just been accomplished, so, technically, there was no need for her to keep up her charade.

"So," began Shun Li, narrowing her eyes, "you're the impostor who took my place?"

"Look, I'm sorry about that! Okay?" said Jade quickly. "It's not my fault we look so alike that people thought I was you. I only played along with this because I really needed to. Now I'm done with what I had to do, so you can just go and show everyone that you're the real Shun Li and have your scholarship and your apartment back."

"I don't care about the scholarship _or_ the apartment!" snapped Shun Li. "All I want from you is the key!"

Jade narrowed her eyes slightly, not sure if Shun Li meant the key she had just got from Valmont. "Key? What key?" she asked warily.

Shun Li growled impatiently. "Don't play dumb! You know very well I mean the key you have in your left jacket pocket!" she said, pointing at it. Jade's eyes widened; how did Shun Li know where she was keeping it?

Oh, right, she had been watching her and Valmont all this time. Jade couldn't help feeling a little violated; this should have been about two friends having a good time, something between her and Valmont only. What right did Shun Li have to spy on them like that?

"Why do you want this key?" asked Jade, her face impassive. When there was no reply from Shun Li, she said, "No matter. I'm sure it can't be more important than what I have to do with it."

To Jade's surprise, Shun Li assumed a fighting pose. "Of course, you would say that, you thief."

"Thief?! I'll have you know I paid for it fair and square!" She yelped when Shun Li charged at her, and was quick to move away. "If anything, you're the thief here!"

"You tricked him into it!" accused Shun Li, turning to try and strike Jade again. "You led him on and took advantage of his weaknesses!"

Jade dodged and caught Shun Li's wrists. "What does it matter to you, anyway?" she said forcedly, her teeth clenched with the effort to match her adversary's strength. "What does Valmont have to do with this?"

"Everything!" shouted Shun Li as she broke free from Jade's grip. They stood still for a moment, just glaring at each other. "He's the guardian of the key, after all! As if you didn't know that already!"

"I'm surprised _you_ know about that." Jade paused as she began to realise the obvious. "So that's it! I get it now." She smirked, and Shun Li gave her a mildly puzzled look. "You're working for Apocalypsium's releaser, aren't you? You're one of her minions!"

Shun Li frowned and hesitated, looking a little uncertain. Jade's smirk widened in triumph.

"I guess it's a good thing I took your place, after all. Who knows what you'd have done with Valmont if I hadn't?"

"Stop saying nonsense and give me the key at once!"

"If you want it, come get it."

Shun Li clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. With a wild cry, she rushed upon her opponent once again, her anger causing her to put more strength than accuracy behind each blow. Jade avoided them easily enough, and purposefully put on a bored expression just to aggravate Shun Li even further. Shun Li noticed this, and with sudden swiftness managed to grab Jade by the jacket.

"You're mocking me!"

"Me? Naww..."

Shun Li shook her. "Shut up! You have no idea who you're dealing with!"

"Well, one thing I know for sure; you really need to work on your fighting skills." Jade struck Shun Li, who stumbled back and fell over. "I'm sorry, but I can't stay and play with you. I have a future to save." She patted her pocket where she kept the key, only to notice it felt empty. Puzzled, she searched her pocket and looked into it, but found nothing. "What? Where –?"

She heard a low chuckle and turned to look at Shun Li, who was still on the ground. With a dark smile, Shun Li held up a small object between her fingers.

"Looking for this?" she asked tauntingly.

Jade blinked, open-mouthed, as she recognised the key in her enemy's hand. "H-how did you...?" She paused, remembering when Shun Li had grabbed her just a moment ago. Shun Li must have shaken her and boasted just to distract her while she reached for the key. Realising this, Jade cursed her own overconfidence. She shouldn't have lowered her guard and allowed Shun Li to manhandle her. Now the tables were turned, and Jade found herself mirroring Shun Li's earlier stance. "Why, you –"

Shun Li leapt to her feet and turned tail, with Jade hot on her heels. The chase lasted for several minutes, and none of them paid any attention to the odd stares from the bystanders or the annoyed protests from those they bumped into.

_Boy, for such a poor fighter, she sure can run fast!_

Jade watched as Shun Li went round a corner and almost immediately heard a gasp and a thud. It seemed Shun Li had just run straight into someone. Even if she hadn't fallen over in the process, this would surely slow her down enough for Jade to catch up with her. Perfect.

When Jade reached the corner, however, she saw no sign of Shun Li or anyone she might have bumped into. Eyes wide in shock and confusion, Jade looked around quickly. Everything looked normal, and Shun Li was nowhere to be seen. The street was relatively long, so she couldn't have just run all the way to the next corner; she was fast, but not _that_ fast!

Jade folded her arms angrily and leant on the wall. She couldn't believe it; someone had outsmarted and outrun her!

"Tch. She just got lucky," she muttered as she consoled her bruised ego, not caring how childish she sounded.

Still, that didn't change the fact that the key was now in the hands of the enemy, which possibly meant their whole mission had failed and her future was still doomed. Now what? Would they have to go back in time once more and try again?

She sighed. "I guess I should tell Uncle what happened. He'll know what to do. Or so I hope..."

oOo

From the top of the building, Shun Li watched as the young woman called Jade walked away in defeat.

"She's gone," she told the middle-aged man who was standing behind her. He didn't seem to be paying attention, though, as he was facing away from her, a faraway look on his green eyes. "Thank you for helping me, Father."

The man turned his piercing gaze on her, his eyes narrowing in disapproval. Shun Li flinched slightly; she hated it when he did that.

"I shouldn't have to help you at all," he told her sternly. "The fight I witnessed was less then impressive. I thought you would have completed your training by now, but your skills leave much to be desired."

She bowed her head, chastised, and felt her face burn. "I'm sorry, Father. I tried to do my best, but –"

"Clearly, you are not trying hard enough," he said coolly. He adjusted his tie and cleared his throat. "But this is hardly the time or place to discuss your lack of training. We shall focus on that once we are back home. What matters is that you did get the key, correct?"

She perked up at that. "Yes, I did. Here it is."

To her surprise, he barely spared it a second glance. He smiled. "Good. You know what you have to do."

She wrapped her fingers around the key and brought it next to her chest protectively. "I refuse," she said petulantly. "I'm not going to hand it over to him. I think _I_ should keep it."

Her father sighed wearily. "Shun Li..."

"I know you think I'm not good enough and that I can't handle it... but it's much more safe with me – with us – than with him."

"This is not your choice."

"But he's weak!" she dared shout, her accent getting thicker as she got more emotional. "He is easy prey to the enemy! You saw what happened!"

"Watch your tone, young lady. And as much as I agree with you, you know we have no choice in the matter. We cannot keep the key."

She began to protest again, but fell silent as her father shot her that infamous, disapproving look. She sighed.

"All right. I'll give it to him."

He nodded in approval.

"By the way, we also have to work on your English."

She said nothing.

oOo

That evening, Valmont sat on one of the couches in the sitting room. He briefly thought of Shun Li and the mysterious young woman who looked so much like her. There had definitely been some hostility in their eyes as they had faced each other. He wondered if a fight had broken out, and contemplated calling Shun Li to make sure she was all right. Then, with a shake of his head, he quickly dismissed that idea. Why should he care? He couldn't even figure out what was wrong with himself. He didn't have to deal with other people's problems as well.

Ever since he had left Shun Li and the other girl, he had started feeling strange. It was as though some part of him were missing. He had shrugged it off at first, assuming he was merely tired. Yet, when he had lain down to try and get some sleep, despite his mother's protests that it was too early, for the sun hadn't even set yet, he had just tossed and turned for two hours before giving up. He had then tried to study, but he just couldn't focus. For some reason, he no longer felt like doing anything but just stay there, half-sitting, half-lying on the couch.

The odd, nagging feeling got more and more intense each passing minute, to the point it was manifesting itself physically. His energy was drained, his chest felt tight, and his head was beginning to throb. He groaned and buried his head in his arms. Why was he feeling so miserable for no apparent reason?

"Are you sure you're all right?" he heard his mother ask for the third time that evening.

"Leave me alone," he drawled, his voice muffled. He began to raise his head from his arms and felt a cool hand on his forehead. He jerked away from his mother's touch.

"Perhaps you're coming down with something."

"I'm fine!" he snapped. "And stop pretending you care!" It was unusual of her to display such concern for his health. She hadn't been this attentive to his wellbeing since he was a child. In fact, he had often been under the impression that if he ever decided to slit his wrists or shoot himself in the head in the middle of the sitting room, she wouldn't have batted an eyelid, but possibly complained about the bloody mess he was doing all over her expensive carpet.

"Of course I care. You are my son," she said, the slightest hint of warmness seeping into her voice.

Valmont looked away, angry and confused. The words themselves meant nothing; Catherine had uttered them many times before. But then, they had sounded empty and in vain. This time, it was different. He hadn't heard her speak with such warmth – hardly noticeable as it had been – in a long, long time. So long, in fact, that he had started believing she was incapable of feeling. Catherine using a kind tone was just something that did not happen.

Then again, that didn't mean she didn't have feelings. Who was he to judge her, anyway? He, too, had trouble expressing his feelings, so most of the time he chose not to show them at all.

_Talk about the pot calling the kettle black..._

"Julian," came that cold, stern voice. He frowned and glared at her briefly before looking away again. "No matter what you think of me, you must remember I'm your mother and I only wish what is best for my child."

"Right," he muttered sarcastically. Not wanting to deal with her any longer, he stood up and began to head to his room. "I'm going to bed. Good night," he said gruffly before leaving the sitting room.

He stifled a yawn when he reached the door of his room. He felt even more tired. With any luck, he would get to sleep now and feel better by the following morning.

He opened the door and froze, his breath catching, when he saw there was someone in his room. For a moment, he thought he was hallucinating; Shun Li was idly sitting on his bed, watching him with an almost bored expression. Taking a better look, however, Valmont realised she was not Shun Li, but that Chinese girl who had confronted her earlier.

"What the hell are you doing in my room?!" he burst out, his lips twisting distastefully when he noticed she had hopped onto his bed with her shoes on.

The young woman silently stood up and fixed him with a serious, penetrating stare.

"You're coming with me."


	11. Legacy

– **CHAPTER 11 –**

_**Legacy**_

For several moments, Valmont could only stare at the strange Chinese girl who had dared to break into his house, invade his room, step on his pristine bed with her filthy shoes, and then demand that he go with her who-knew-where. The same girl who had all but admitted just that afternoon that she had been stalking him and Shun Li. She was obviously insane and maybe even dangerous.

He glared at her in indignation.

"I am not going anywhere with you," he told her coldly. "And I will give you five seconds to leave this house."

"I'll only leave with you," she said, folding her arms.

"I'll _make_ you leave, then!"

"Why are you being so difficult?" she asked, her aloof expression melting into something akin to despair. "My father only wants to talk with you! We don't mean you any harm; we're only trying to help you!"

"Help me with what? I don't need any help!"

"Of course you do." She drew a small, shiny object from the inner pocket of her jacket and held it up for Valmont to see. "Do you recognise this?"

He stared at the object, his eyes wide in wonder. How could he not recognise it? It was, without a doubt, the precious key a stranger had given him. The key he had been keeping for three years.

That accursed key.

He had given it to Shun Li only hours ago in exchange for a valuable ring. Then, this girl had showed up, and it had seemed to him that she and Shun Li knew each other, but were not on very friendly terms. He hadn't paid it much mind, since it was none of his business and he thought Shun Li could take care of herself.

How come, then, that this girl was now in the possession of this key, which Shun Li had been so determined to get? Somehow, he doubted that Shun Li would have just let this girl have it without a fight. He felt another pang of concern for Shun Li and glared at the girl before him warily.

"This belongs to you," she said, shaking the key between her fingers, silently urging him to take it.

"Not anymore," he replied. "She paid for it. It's hers now."

"Nothing in the world could buy this," she retorted. "Not money, certainly not a diamond ring. Not even a human life or soul."

"Well, you might as well keep it, then. I don't want it. It's cursed."

"It is not cursed," said Shun Li, her eyes widening, as though the very idea were unthinkably blasphemous. "It is an _honour_ to guard it against the forces of evil!"

Valmont rolled his eyes at her insipid, over-dramatic words. "If it's such an honour, I ask again, why don't you keep it for yourself?"

"Trust me, I would like nothing more," she sniffed, an ugly, haughty sneer twisting her otherwise attractive features. "But it is not my duty. It is yours. I am nothing but a humble servant, an assistant."

"What in the blazes are you talking about?"

"Don't you understand yet?" she snapped. "You are the guardian of the key! You are the only one who can keep it safe! Or, at least, that's what Father believes! What I believe is that you're weak and a lousy guardian!"

"I don't care what you or your father believes!" he half-shouted, doing his best to keep his self-control. "_I_ believe you've got the wrong person – and that you must be insane!"

"Unfortunately, we are one hundred per cent sure that you are the true guardian of the key," she said, calming down, although her deep scowl remained. "Which means that the fate of the world lies in your hands, and you are going to bear it whether you like it or not." She wrapped her slender fingers around the key, clenching her fist, and pressed it against his chest, where his heart was. He pulled back slightly, but she pressed on, fixing him with a very serious gaze. "You must have been feeling very miserable ever since you gave it away. You can't live without it. You need it, just as it needs you to keep functioning. No matter the grief and the pain it may bring you, it is better than being without it. This key is your life and your doom. This is your fate, guardian. Now take it."

Even as she spoke, Valmont felt a warmth that seemed to pulse from the key and reach his heart when she touched him, and it spread through his body, erasing the ill feeling that had been plaguing him all evening. He felt alive, energetic, safe, content.

He felt whole.

His hand came to rest upon hers. She gingerly opened her hand so he could take the key. With some hesitation, he took it from her palm and stared at it thoughtfully.

"You can feel the bond, can't you?" she whispered.

He sighed and wrapped his own fingers around it forcefully, half-wishing it would break into pieces. "Why me?"

"Because you are the one who created it."

He looked up at her in surprise. "I did no such thing!" he protested. "I got this key when I was twelve! A strange man gave it to me and said it had been with his family for generations!"

"I never said Julian Valmont created it. Not in this life. But you did create it."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Be strong, guardian," she told him sternly. "You gave in too easily today because of your greed. Pathetic! Don't let yourself be fooled by the enemy!" She half-turned, then added, almost as a second thought, "And stay away from that girl!"

"What? What are you on about now?" he demanded to know, but she paid him no heed. Sticking her nose in the air, the Chinese girl turned her back to him and marched over to the window. "Wait!" he shouted when she leapt onto the windowsill and jumped into the night. By the time he reached the window, she was nowhere to be seen. It was as though she had simply vanished into thin air.

He still held the key in a shaking hand next to his chest. The girl's words had disturbed and intrigued him. He wanted – he needed – to know more about the key and his alleged status as its guardian. He had got the impression that this girl knew more about him than she had let on, and he suddenly regretted having refused to go with her to see her father. They must have answers for many, if not all, of his questions.

No matter. He would not rest until he found them and cleared this entire mess up. He felt that something important was going and he was determined to get to the bottom of it, because, as his unwanted guest had said, it involved him, whether he liked it or not.

oOo

Half-way back to the apartment, Jade came to a halt when a thought suddenly occurred to her. Now that the real Shun Li was in London, surely she would want to reclaim her apartment, right? For the briefest of moments, Jade worried that Shun Li would attack Jackie and the others to kick them out, but then she shook her head. A lopsided smile formed on her lips as she thought how silly she was being. From what she could gather from their recent encounter, Shun Li was, at best, a mediocre fighter, whereas Jackie was... well, he was _Jackie Chan_. And even if she did cause any trouble with some dirty trick she might have up her sleeve, there was still Tohru – and probably Uncle, as well – to help him.

Still, Jade didn't want to miss such a fight. Even if her help weren't necessary, she would still love to watch Shun Li having her ass kicked.

She hurried her pace.

She was only slightly out of breath when she burst the door open and shouted, "Jackie!"

Startled, the man in question jerked his head up and blinked owlishly at her. He began to stand from the sofa, a newspaper open in his shaking hands. He was alone in the room, although cutlery noise could be heard from the kitchen. Jade deflated a little when she realized that no fight had broken out and, indeed, Shun Li was nowhere to be seen.

Tohru stepped out of the kitchen, carrying a small tray with sandwiches and wearing an expression similar to Jackie's.

"Jade," said Jackie, putting the newspaper aside as he stood up. "Is something wrong?"

"Sort of," she muttered sullenly, running her hands through her hair in exasperation. "Remember you told me I shouldn't take Shun Li's place because she might show up any time?"

"Yes," said Jackie slowly, warily, his eyes narrowing.

"Guess who I met today."

"You mean – you mean the real Shun Li is here?" asked Jackie, alarmed. "How do you know it was really her?"

"She looked just like the girl on the photo in her school file. And when I was alone with her, she said, 'So, you're the impostor who took my place?'" quoted Jade, imitating Shun Li with an exaggeratedly high-pitched voice and thick accent. "That was a big hint," she added wryly.

Jackie groaned and brought a hand to his face. "What happened next?"

Arms folded, she gazed upwards in an effort to recall the details of the exchange. "I apologized and said she could have her things back. That's why I ran all the way here. I thought she'd try to kick you out." She gasped and looked at her uncle, her eyes widening. "I just remembered! She actually said she didn't care about the apartment! Or the scholarship!"

"What?" Jackie frowned. "That can't be right. How can she just let you have those things as if it were no big deal? Wasn't she outraged when she called you an impostor?"

"Yeah, she seemed pretty pissed off," muttered Jade, rubbing her chin, deep in thought. "Come to think of it, I don't think she was mad because I've been living in her apartment. She accused me of stealing the key!"

"The key?" repeated Jackie and Tohru in unison.

"Yes! The key! _That_ key!" exclaimed Jade, just barely refraining from bouncing on her feet. "I'd finally gotten the key from Valmont! Everything was going so well!" She sagged, looking at her hands, remembering the feeling of the world's salvation in her hands. They felt emptier than ever now. She clenched her fists angrily. "But then Shun Li took it from me and ran away!"

The worst thing, Jade reflected, was that it had been her own fault, really. If only she had taken her fight with Shun Li more seriously and not lowered her guard in her arrogance, the key would still be with her. None of this would have happened if Jackie had been in her place. Jade realized, then, that this must be one of the reasons why she had never quite been able to be as good as Jackie, let alone surpass him. He never underestimated his adversary and always did his best, no matter the situation. Maybe Jade should have let him help her a little more in this mission, rather than try and do everything on her own.

"It's all right, Jade," Jackie told her comfortingly. "We'll figure out a way of retrieving it." Despite his optimistic words, his expression was anxious, and he kept glancing at the door anxiously, as if waiting for someone.

"Do you think Shun Li might still show up?" Jade asked him, following his gaze to the door. "Wouldn't it be better if she did, though? Then we could get the key back!"

"I'm not worried about her..." murmured Jackie. Tohru set the tray on the table, looking just as somber as the archaeologist.

"We should tell Uncle about this!" said Jade, perking up. "Maybe he can think of something that would help, a spell – Where is he, anyway?"

"That is the problem, Jade," said Jackie. He began to pace around the room. "He never came back."

"We have not seen him since he left after that black cat," said Tohru.

"We have been looking for him all over the city, but..." Jackie trailed off and sighed.

"It is as though he has just vanished."

Jade stared at them, with a sick feeling in her stomach. She had had no idea that Uncle had disappeared. To think that she had been having a good time just hours ago, while he might have been needing her help. She knew Uncle wasn't helpless and could take care of himself, but who knew what kind of trouble he might have run into? Catherine's black cat was obviously not an ordinary animal; what if that had only been a disguise and its true form was actually that of a monstrous, powerful demon? Or that cat, while being chased, could have led Uncle to its master or other dangerous creatures. Poor Uncle, having to face it all by himself...

Also, how could he have just vanished? One did not just vanish into thin air without leaving a trace, even with magic, and she refused to contemplate the possibility that his body had been pulverized by whatever demonic creature he had encountered. So, either he was being kept in a well-hidden place in London, or he had wound up somewhere else entirely – another city, another country, another continent, another _dimension_.

"Isn't there any kind of – I don't know – any spell that could help us find him?" she asked Tohru, feeling frustrated with the whole situation. First the deal with Shun Li, now this.

Tohru hummed thoughtfully, his brow knitting in concentration.

"I only know spells to locate magical objects and evil chi. But perhaps," he added before Jade could say anything, "I can modify one of the spells so that it will locate any kind of chi, not just evil."

"Why don't you try locating evil chi, too?" asked Jade. "It might lead us to whatever it was that got Uncle. Maybe Uncle is still with it, or it could give us a clue about what happened to him."

"We did that today, Jade," Jackie told her. "It didn't work."

"Even though we have seen with our own eyes that a demon has been in this city, no spell can locate its evil chi," explained Tohru, a forlorn expression on his face. He looked out the window, looking ten years older, weariness, defeat, and worry etched on his face.

Jade walked over to the big man and patted him on the arm in a comforting gesture, giving him a kind smile.

"It wasn't your fault, Tohru," she told him. "Even Uncle couldn't find any evil chi with his spell, remember?"

"I know," he whispered. He bowed his head and stared at the floor. Jade's smile faltered for just a second.

"And there was nothing you could have done to save him from that demon. You know that, don't you?"

Tohru said nothing, but Jade caught a deepening of his frown and a flash of barely suppressed emotion in his eyes before he lowered his head further.

"She's right, Tohru," said Jackie, having approached them. "Uncle did tell you to stay with us and not to go with him."

"I should have gone with him anyway," whispered Tohru darkly. "I should have helped him, or tried to stop him from going after such a powerful demon all by himself..."

"You had no way of knowing it was so dangerous!" said Jackie.

"Yeah, it's not like Uncle's helpless!" said Jade. "He usually can hold his own against a demon! He's faced demons that were a lot bigger and meaner than that. How were we supposed to know that cute little cat was so powerful?"

"I understand," said Tohru, lifting his gaze back to the window. "But I still feel as though I have failed him, somehow."

"Well, you still have a chance," said Jade, moving to stand before Tohru so they could look each other in the eye. "Moping around won't help us or Uncle at all! Come on, now, chin up! Do that spell you were talking about." She gave him her best encouraging smile. "We can still find him, Tohru! We _will_ find him – together."

oOo

The Westminster Bridge was, as usual, full of people, many of whom would stop to marvel at the beautiful sight of London and the River Thames and take photos. Valmont didn't appear to be paying them any mind as he casually leant over the rail, humming under his breath and fiddling with the golden key in his fingers. For all appearances, he was the personification of nonchalance.

In truth, however, he was watching the crowd with keen eyes, his gaze inspecting each face in search of one which had been tormenting him since the previous night. He hadn't yet seen it, but he knew it was there, somewhere in the busy crowd. Perhaps not in the bridge, but certainly near enough to see him, watch his every moment.

He wasn't being paranoid. He just knew that he was being watched – and that suited him just fine, for he was actually looking forward to meeting that person again. Unfortunately, that sneaky stalker had yet to show herself, and Valmont, who wasn't getting any younger, could think of many other things he'd rather be doing at the moment.

Fine, then. He had given her a chance to let them solve this as reasonable adults (even though, technically, neither of them were adults), but if she wanted to do this the hard way, that was her problem.

He scanned the river, making sure there was no boat in the vicinity.

With deliberate, exaggerated movements, he stepped back and reared the hand holding the key back. For anyone who was paying attention, even from a distance, it was quite obvious what he intended to do. He held still for a few seconds, waiting to hear a shrill cry for him to stop. When none came, he threw the key away, much like a baseball player would throw the ball. He watched it as it made a perfect arch in the air, glinting in the sunlight, whirled down until it hit the water with a small yet satisfying splash, and sank.

He stared at the water for a while. Then, without bothering to look back at the crowd, he turned around and calmly walked away. Some people were giving him odd looks, but he paid them no mind.

He counted ten seconds.

"Look! That woman just threw herself into the river!" someone shouted. It didn't take long for a mass of people to gather at the bridge to watch and take photos of the incident.

Valmont went on his merry way, humming under his breath.

"You!" thundered an enraged, high-pitched voice.

Valmont, sitting at a table outside his favourite café, looked up while he took a sip of his tea, completely unfazed. The Chinese stalker wore a profoundly unamused expression on her pretty face, her teeth clenched and her right fist shaking slightly. She didn't seem to mind that she was dripping all over the place, or being stared at. Valmont's gaze strayed a little down and he contemplated the interesting sight before him. Why wasn't she wearing white, he asked?

"You!" she repeated, her breath laboured. "Why did you do that? Are you – are you out of your mind? You – you idiot! Stupid, incompetent, irresponsible, worthless – What are you staring at?"

"Nothing," he said perkily.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" she asked, folding her arms and looking like she was just barely refraining from stomping her foot.

"I just did, didn't I?"

"You know what I mean!"

"You're making a scene."

"Shut up and tell me why you threw the key in the river!"

"Now, see, if I shut up, how can I possibly—" He broke off at the evil eye she sent his way and which was silently but clearly promising he would soon find himself in a private world of pain if he didn't give her a straight answer. He smirked, amused rather than scared. "Oh, all right," he said, figuring he had already tormented her long enough.

He deliberately took a longer than necessary sip and sighed, his expression a mask of oblivious contentment, although he was inwardly laughing at her growing impatience. She looked like she was about to jump on his neck and tear an answer out of his throat.

"Actually, I did it so you would show yourself and talk to me," he admitted. "I have many questions for you. _And _I would like to meet your father."

She huffed, shooting him a disbelieving look. "You must be kidding. What made your change your mind overnight?"

He shrugged. "To be honest, I wanted to come with you last night, but you stormed off and disappeared before I could tell I had changed my mind. So it's your own fault, really." He took a sip, noticing and enjoying the annoyed twitch in her eye.

"You're doing this on purpose," she snarled.

"Doing what?" he asked, doing his best innocent impression. He took another sip.

"Look, can't you just—" she sputtered and flailed her arms with a drawn out noise of frustration. "Just – take the damn key and follow me, then!"

He caught the key deftly when she tossed it at him and slid it into the inner pocket of his jacket.

"Not so fast," he said, raising his voice, as she had already turned around and begun to stomp off. He waited until she stopped and looked back at him over her shoulder before he took another sip from the teacup. "I haven't finished my tea yet."

He was well aware that he was being frustrating; that was rather the point.

oOo

Somehow, Valmont had expected his fuming stalker to lead him to some dark, dusty manor, or an old, abandoned building in a more obscure part of the city, or some such thing. Those were the sorts of places that mysterious people who knew something you didn't chose as their headquarters, he felt. Instead, however, she took him to a five-star hotel.

She kept a stoic expression all the way to Room 605, ignoring Valmont's questions and remarks and the odd looks she got from other people they passed by. She may no longer be dripping, but her hair and clothes were still wet, which was not something one saw every day in London. Valmont was slightly disappointed to see that she wasn't even blushing from all the attention, though. She was so entertaining to watch when she got flustered.

The girl knocked on the door and didn't wait for any reply from inside the room before opening it. She then stepped aside so Valmont would enter first. With a quick, wary glance at her, Valmont stepped into the brightly lit room.

A middle-aged man was sitting at a table in the centre, casually sipping what was probably tea, a perfect imitation of Valmont a few minutes earlier at that café. Ironically, Valmont was, like the girl had been, annoyed that the man appeared to be so lost in his tea-born bliss that he wouldn't even acknowledge his presence. Unlike her, however, he refused to show irritation and simply stood before the man, as far away as was polite, waiting and watching him. Behind him, the girl closed the door quietly.

Odd, Valmont thought as he took in every detail about the man's appearance. He had dark brown hair and mustache and green eyes and was very well dressed. He looked familiar, somehow. He was actually as ordinary-looking as they came, but there was still something about him that Valmont couldn't quite put his finger on. An old family friend or one of his father's business partners, perhaps?

The man lowered his cup and smiled at him, his small green eyes regarding Valmont appraisingly.

"Well, well. Here you are, at last. It's been a while, hasn't it?" he said as a greeting. Valmont stared at him blankly, which the man did not seem to notice. "You've grown up, boy."

"I'm sorry, sir, but have we met?" asked Valmont flatly, not caring how rude his straightforwardness might be. Something about this man's voice and the way he was looking at him was bothering Valmont.

The man raised his eyebrows in apparent surprise. "You don't remember me? One would have thought that you would never forget the face of the man who gave you something that completely changed your life."

Valmont only arched an unimpressed eyebrow. If he were honest, which he wasn't, he would have admitted that his memory was actually terrible when it came to faces. It was one of his major flaws, in his opinion, and a potential weakness. Right now, for instance, he would be feeling a lot less ill at ease and confused and a lot more confident if he could remember who on Earth this man was. The hint about something that had changed his life told him nothing – he had had many life-changing experiences.

Then again, when he really thought about it, it wasn't impossible to figure out. The girl who had brought him here claimed to be his daughter, and the key was obviously very important to her. There had to be a connection between this man and the key.

Suddenly, it became quite obvious who this man was. Valmont still couldn't remember him very well, but he couldn't think of any other possibility.

Comprehension must have showed in his face, because the man smiled and said:

"I see you remember now."

Valmont silently berated himself; he should be more careful with his expressions, leave his face void of emotion, or else he would only be making himself more vulnerable to a possible threat.

Unfortunately, keeping a blank façade at the moment was more difficult than usual. If this man really was who Valmont thought he was, he had indeed changed his life, not so long ago. For three years, Valmont had wished to see him again, but he could never decide what he would say or do if they ever met again. And now that they had finally met again, Valmont still had no idea what to say or do. He had mixed feelings about someone who had given him something so precious and at the same time so terrible – a gift and a curse, one might say. He had so many questions that he didn't know which one he should ask first.

"Have a seat, boy," said the man. "Would you care for a spot of tea?"

"No." Valmont sat down stiffly, his wary gaze never leaving the man before him.

"I believe introductions are in order, after three years," said the man, with a good-natured laugh. "My name is Jonathan Leng."

Valmont found it odd that someone who looked so British would have a Chinese surname, but did not comment on it.

"Valmont," he returned, not bothering to say his first name, and shook Mr Leng's proffered hand.

"And that," continued the man, gesturing at the girl who stood near the darker corner she was able to find, "is my daughter, Shun Li."

Valmont looked over at her, with a small smile that, seen from a certain angle (i.e. hers), was more of a smirk than anything. "Charmed, I'm sure," he murmured. The girl scowled and looked away huffily. Valmont also had to wonder if Shun Li was a very common name in China. It seemed too much of a coincidence that he knew two girls named Shun Li, and they appeared to recognise each other and show mutual hostility.

"Well, then, I imagine you have got many questions," said Mr Leng.

"As a matter of fact, I have," said Valmont. "But I suppose you already know what most of them are."

"Not really. I thought I had already told you everything you needed to know. I may have refrained from telling you my name, but I did tell you what I was, what you were, why I was giving you the key, and what you were going to protect it from."

"And I thought you were nothing but a madman!" snapped Valmont. "Until the ninjas attacked. It took me a while to realise that they were attacking me because they were after the key. Why did you give it to me?"

"To protect it. I told you that. You are the guardian."

"But why am _I_ the guardian?"

"You created the key many centuries ago, in your previous life."

"Ah. Yes. You did mention something about reincarnation," muttered Valmont, rubbing his temples. He wasn't even sure he believed such a thing, but decided to humour Leng for the time being. "And how can you tell I am the reincarnation of the original guardian, pray tell?"

"It did take us a while," said Leng evasively. He took a sip of his tea. "But we are certain that it's you."

A snort from Shun Li's direction let them both know that "we" most definitely did not include _her_.

"All right, then," said Valmont, frustrated. He frowned, considering his next question. "But there is one very important thing you failed to tell me. What is the key _for_?"

"I didn't think that was important," said Leng, with a shrug. "But if you must know, it is to open a chest."

"What chest?" asked Valmont, immediately curious.

Leng hesitated. "The chest where an urn is being kept," he answered haltingly.

Valmont sighed and massaged his temple again. It was like talking to his mother, who took pleasure in giving only vague, cryptic answers to all his questions. After living and dealing with her for so long, however, Valmont had learnt to be patient. If he just played along, he would soon get his way.

"Why is that urn so important?" he asked, keeping his eyes open for Leng's reaction. The man hesitated again and sipped his tea, but other than that showed no sign of alteration in his demeanour.

"It... holds an evil spirit."

"I see." Valmont couldn't contain a note of disappointment. He had expected it to be something a little more valuable. He was still curious about it, but since Leng wasn't being very forthcoming... "Nothing important, then," he said dismissively.

As he had expected, Leng froze and stared at him with wide, unblinking eyes.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I've seen my share of so-called evil spirits," said Valmont, sounding bored. It wasn't exactly a lie, though it wasn't entirely true, either. Especially when he had been in Asia, he had seen many strange things that _could_ have possibly been evil spirits, but he had tried not to dwell on it and think that it had been a dream or hallucination or something else entirely with a perfectly rational, scientific explanation. Either way, ninjas that materialised from the darkness and then vanished into puffs of smoke could count as evil spirits, right? "What is so special about this one?"

Leng pursed his lips into a tight line and set his teacup down. Before he could say anything, however, his daughter began to shout angrily in Chinese. Valmont could understand very little of what she said, but if the glares and accusing pointing finger in his direction were anything to go by, it was nothing complimentary about his person.

Her father glared at her and told her to be quiet. "He doesn't know," he said to her, still speaking in Chinese, but he spoke more slowly and clearly, his words simple, so even Valmont could understand. "He couldn't have known. It's my fault." He turned back to Valmont and his gaze softened. "I wasn't going to tell you about this, because your only function is to protect the key, but perhaps knowing the truth will give you motivation."

Valmont bit back a retort about how he had got the right to know the truth from the very beginning, if it meant he would have to fight off creatures of darkness in the middle of the night on a regular basis. The man was about to give him a straight explanation at last, and Valmont didn't want to interrupt him.

"You see, this spirit almost brought the world to an end in the ancient times. Fortunately, our ancestors succeeded in sealing it within an urn, which in turn was locked up in a chest. The key to the chest was guarded by its creator."

"Me," said Valmont. Leng nodded. "And the chest?"

"It was left with my ancestors. They also guarded the key after your past self died, but that was too dangerous."

"Didn't my past self have any progeny?"

"Yes, but they were either unavailable or unreliable, or so I was told." Leng coughed. "The point is, if this spirit is released from the urn, it will do everything in its power to finish what it started so many centuries ago. And this time, there are no truly powerful sorcerers, either human or demon, to save us again. So, it is your duty as the original guardian to protect the key and prevent such a catastrophe."

"You and your daughter keep badgering me about protecting the accursed key," said Valmont, scowling. "But where is the chest _you _are supposed to protect?"

Leng's reaction was satisfying and rather unsurprised; he lowered his head in shame.

"We don't know. It has been stolen."


End file.
